Lucky and Claire: Having It All
by cejaycee
Summary: Career-minded Claire Walsh secretly longs for a man to call her own. And babies! Will the mutual attraction growing between her and Lucky Spencer give her what she desires most?
1. Chapter 1

Lucky and Claire: Having It All

As Lucky was pushing a straw through the hole in Jake's juice box, a shadow fell across him, and he momentarily looked up. "Do you mind if I join you, Detective Spencer? I promise you, no meltdowns this time." Claire Walsh was standing above him, ineffectively shading her eyes against the sun. Handing the juice to the waiting Jake, Lucky answered, "Ms. Walsh. Of course, no problem. Have a seat. And you really don't have to keep apologizing for your 'little meltdown,' as you call it. It was nice, seeing that side of you—I don't imagine you show it often. Very endearing, actually. And I thought we agreed that you'd call me Lucky." Claire sat down on the park bench next to him. "Please, call me Claire. You're right—I don't show that side of myself to many people. I try not to show it to me. In my line of work, being soft isn't an asset. Vulnerability is a no-no." "Yeah, I get that," Lucky responded. "I suppose it's the same in my line of work. Showing weakness can get you killed, or at the least, badly hurt."

"Yet here you are, laughing and playing with your kids in the park, a public place."

"I don't mind my children seeing this side of me. I never want them to doubt my love for them, and I want them to always feel safe with me. If that means getting down in the grass with them, spending time with them—well, I don't care who sees that. Were you looking for me specifically? What brings you out to the park?"

"No, I wasn't looking for you specifically; I just needed to get out of my office for a while. I love my job, I really do, but there are some days when I feel like literally banging my head against a wall. That's when I step away from it. The park is a nice place to take a break." "Anything I can help you with, or is 'whatever it is' above my pay grade?"

"I was just trying to make some headway with the Michael Corinthos case. Making calls, calling in favors. Nothing seems to be working right now."

"I hope you know that his family appreciates any efforts or progress you make on his behalf. Thank you for not giving up."

"Oh, that's right—you're related to him somehow, aren't you?"

"Yes, he's my second cousin on my father's side."

"Must make life interesting, being related to half the town," Claire said, half-jokingly.

"Well, I wouldn't say half, but Port Charles isn't exactly New York City. We're a pretty tight-knit town. Everyone knows everyone else, it seems." Silence fell as they watched Cam and Jake playing together in the grass, rolling a ball back and forth to one another.

"They are too cute. You are so lucky. Oh no," Claire groaned as she realized what she'd said. "You must get that a lot."

"What, the play on my name? I'm used to it by now."

"Is your name really 'Lucky'? How did you come to be named 'Lucky'?"

"My given name is Lucas. I was named for my father, but there is only one Luke Spencer. I've been called 'Lucky' so long that sometimes I forget it isn't my birth name."

"Lucas, huh?" she asked, smiling at him. "You don't look like a Lucas." They were both suddenly distracted when the ball the boys were playing with bounced in front of them. Simultaneously, Claire and Lucky reached for the ball as Cam yelled, "Daddy! Throw it back!" There was a moment of awareness between them as their hands touched. They held each other's gazes before Claire asked, "May I?" "Sure," replied Lucky, "knock yourself out." "Here you go, sweetie," Claire called out to Cam before rolling the ball in his direction. She laughed delightedly as he unsuccessfully tried to catch it, watching it roll past him. "Too cute," she said again. "Well, I suppose I'd better get back to it," Claire sighed, rising from the park bench, still looking at Cameron and Jake. "Thanks for sharing your kids with me, however briefly." "You're welcome—any time," Lucky said. He watched her walk away with an interested eye, admiring her slim figure in her professional business suit. "Not bad. Not bad at all," he said to himself.

"Get your head back in the game," Claire reminded herself for what felt like the millionth time after returning to her office. "You didn't come to Port Charles to get a man, you came to put Sonny Corinthos in prison. So what if that man is adorable. So what if that man loves his children. So what if that man looks adorable while loving his children. Aggh!" Claire was exasperated with herself. "Enough!" she exclaimed as she reached to answer her ringing phone. Even as she began listening to the voice on the other end, however, she couldn't get the image of Lucky Spencer joyfully watching his children out of her mind.

"Ok, this is what I'm thinkin', said Johnny Zacchara after Claire agreed to meet him at his garage. "I already got a couple of Sonny's 'business associates' to leave Sonny and join me. He's pretty pissed about that. It ain't gonna take much to push him over the edge. He's expectin' a shipment comin' through his territory in a couple of weeks, max. I'm expectin' a shipment of my own. A few thou changes hands, and my shipment becomes his. You Feds bust in, seize the contraband, arrest Sonny. I'll create a problem that he'll want to deal with personally, so he'll come to the docks to receive the shipment, show he's still in control, even without Jason. He can deny all he wants, but it'll be HIS name on the manifests, and the new crates will be seen being unloaded off his ship. There are a few people still loyal to the Zaccharas. I can totally make this happen." "What you're describing, Mr. Zacchara," said Claire, "is entrapment, and it's illegal. As a matter of fact, this whole conversation is improper." Her curiosity aroused, she asked him, "What sort of contraband are we talking about?"

"Drugs, guns, what do you care? As long as he gets caught receiving it."

"I just want to make sure I understand what you're trying to involve me in. What makes you so sure that I won't turn YOU in for this little plot of yours? Or that I'll even have anything to do with it?"

"You've had a hard-on for Sonny Corinthos since before you got to Port Charles—I'm not the one you want, he is. His trial made you look kind of foolish, tarnished your shine a bit. You want your own back just for that. And impropriety? Illegality? Don't forget, Ms. Walsh, that it was you who suggested I speak to Lisa Niles. You who told me she was the lone hold out, holdin' up a guilty verdict for Sonny. I think that's called 'jury tamperin'. Don't try to act lily-white with me—it won't wash."

"Suddenly, I don't think I can trust you, Mr. Zacchara," Claire said, mentally kicking herself for giving John Zacchara this hold over her.

"Look, you want what you want, I want what I want. Right now, that happens to be the same thing—Sonny behind bars, and outta commission. We can work together, or keep gettin' in each other's way. Up to you."

"Let me think about it. I'll get back to you."

"Sooner rather than later. A score like this takes time to set up if it's comin' off without a hitch." "I said I'd think about it. That's all you get right now." She stormed out of Johnny's garage, muttering under her breath about cockamamie schemes. She couldn't believe she'd left herself open to potential blackmail by John Zacchara, and now she was thinking about joining forces with him. She needed a "second opinion" from someone who was a bit more objective than she was, and who knew the players in this game a bit better. She suddenly brightened—she knew just who to ask.

Johnny smirked as he picked up the phone to put his plans in motion. Things were finally looking up.

Elizabeth was feeling some irritation as she realized that once again, she'd lost Lucky's attention. She'd asked him to the Metro Court to talk about making arrangements for the boys for the weekend, hoping that they could share a meal together while they discussed Cam and Jake. Lucky quickly disabused her of that notion when he said, "I've already eaten, Elizabeth. I'm still not sure why we couldn't have had this discussion over the phone. Is something about our usual arrangement changing?"

"I thought it would be nice if we could talk in a neutral place and get a bite to eat at the same time." Lucky had seemed so distant as he reluctantly agreed to meet her at the Metro Court. And now, he wasn't even listening to what she was saying. "Lucky!" she exclaimed, annoyed. Lucky's eyes had drifted from hers to the other side of the dining room for the second time. "You're ignoring me again! What is so fascinating over there…" Elizabeth's voice broke off as she turned to see what was holding Lucky's attention, her eyes lighting on Claire Walsh sipping a glass of wine, frowning as she tapped into her laptop. "Claire Walsh, Lucky? Really?" she asked, a hint of jealousy in her tone.

"What?" Lucky responded. "I'm not ignoring you—I heard every word you said. You want me to pick the boys up at your grandmother's house instead of yours because you'll be working late on Friday. That won't be a problem. You want me to drop them off at the hospital on Sunday afternoon, and you'll take them from there back home. Got it. Anything else?"

"No, since you're obviously in a hurry to be away. There's nothing else."

"Ok," he said as he rose from the table. "I'll see you later, then." He had a faint smile on his face as he walked toward Claire's table, somehow finding that frown of hers oddly enchanting. Elizabeth, who was eyeing him half ruefully, half angrily, was already forgotten.

Claire looked up as Lucky approached her table, a wide grin breaking out on her face before she could stop it. "Hmm, interesting," thought Lucky. "Is she that glad to see me?" "Detective Spencer—Lucky. Hi! I was just thinking about you!" He cocked his head to the side as his eyebrows raised questioningly. "No! I mean, yes, I was thinking about you, but only because I think I found something that might help Michael, and I wanted to run it by you, see what you thought, make sure it's a worthwhile undertaking. I still need to work out a couple of kinks—do you think we could meet in my office on Monday?"

"Sure, I can do that. Anything to help Michael. Can you give me a hint?"

"I'd rather not, in case it doesn't quite pan out, but if it does, I think you'll be impressed." "Something tells me, Ms. Walsh, that you impressing me won't be very difficult. Monday it is." He'd walked away from the table and left the hotel before Claire realized he'd been flirting with her. "Duh," she thought to herself, wishing she'd said something clever in response. "I really do have to sharpen my social skills."

"After the week I've had," Claire thought as she entered Kelly's Diner on Sunday afternoon, "I deserve a caloric binge. A huge burger. Greasy fries. And a double chocolate milkshake. Definitely a double chocolate milkshake." She was pleasantly surprised to find Lucky sitting with his boys at a table, already sharing what looked like a meal similar to the one she was planning to enjoy. "Hello, Lucky! Hello"—here she trailed off, pointing in Cam's direction. "Cameron—Cam," Lucky reminded her. "And Jake."

"Right, Cam and Jake. I won't forget again. How are you boys doing? Are you enjoying your lunch?"

"I am," Cam piped up. "It's my favorite." Jake just smiled up at her, enchanting her further.

"I wasn't expecting to find you here—I was looking for some comfort food, and one of the mailclerks in my office building suggested I try Kelly's."

"My father and my aunt own this diner so I've spent many days here, and have some great memories. I want to extend the tradition with my boys; maybe one day, this will be their hangout, too. Would you care to join us?"

"Are you sure I wouldn't be intruding on your father bonding time?"

"Not at all—I think my boys can share my attention for a while, can't you, boys?"

"Yes," they both said, not really sure what they were agreeing to, but ever eager to please their father. Claire sat down, giving her order to the waitress as she began shrugging out of her light jacket. "Here, let me help you," Lucky said, rising to give assistance by holding the sleeves back out of her way. "Thank you," Claire responded, trying valiantly not to blush. "I'm surprised you let me help you," Lucky said, amused at her embarrassment.

"Why?"

"You strike me as one of those women who'd rather fall over backwards than allow a man to help you with anything."

"I appreciate chivalry as much as the next woman," Claire said indignantly. "But I don't always need a man's help—some things I prefer to do for myself."

"I meant no offense, so please don't take any. I think strong, independent women are great. I just wasn't sure I should offer to help you, but I am a gentleman—I couldn't help myself." They smiled at each other, and Claire inhaled gratefully as her meal arrived. "Oh, this is perfect—exactly what I needed," she said, tucking into the food with undisguised hunger.

"Why are you in need of comfort food? Still feeling stress over Michael's situation? Or has another difficult case crossed your desk?"

"I'm thinking about a lot of things: Michael, Sonny Corinthos, the Mob influence in Port Charles, and in New York—how to stop it. How far is too far?"

"I'm sorry; I'm not sure I understand the question."

"That's my dilemma—how far is too far to go to end something bad or evil?"

"Well, I think if you have to cross a line to end something…" Lucky broke off to gather his thoughts. He went on, "Two wrongs never make a right. If you do wrong to stop wrong, you become a part of the evil you're trying to end. Does that make sense?"

"I understand what you're saying, and a long time ago, I would have wholeheartedly agreed with you, but things change." She waved a french fry in his direction as she continued, "The criminal element has gotten smarter, less repentant. Confessions are harder to come by. Actually catching people in the act seems to be the only way to get convictions these days. Sometimes it seems that we have to play their games to stop them."

"I'm just not sure I agree with that," Lucky responded. Claire took a breath intending to argue her point, and Lucky raised a hand. "It's not that I think you're totally wrong. What I mean is that when you have to fudge the lines to catch the bad guys, how do you separate yourself from the criminal at that point? There has to be a legal way to achieve your ends."

"Define 'legal,'" Claire countered.

"I don't know—legal. That's more your scope than mine." Claire stared at him for a moment. "You really are quite the Boy Scout, aren't you? You never bend the rules, fudge the lines?" For some reason, Lucky was stung by her impression of him. "I understand the temptation to 'make something happen' to get a conviction. I may even have given in a time or two. I'm not perfect by any means, Claire. I just try to work within the system I claim to believe in." Jake began fidgeting before jumping down from his chair to tug on Lucky's pant leg. "Daddy, I don't feel so good," he whispered urgently.

"Ok, little guy. You probably overdid it on the milkshake. It's almost time to drop you both off with your mama anyway. Let's get your jacket back on. Cam, are you finished with your lunch? You need to put your jacket on, too." Claire watched him as he put the boys in their jackets, smiling at his patience.

"I do love watching you with them," she said unguardedly, utterly embarrassed when she realized she'd spoken aloud. Lucky was a bit flustered himself as he took in the tone of her words. "Thanks. So I guess I'll see you later?"

"Later?"

"On Monday. You asked me to stop by your office…"

"Oh, yes, of course. Monday. I'll see you then." Claire couldn't believe she'd forgotten. Where WAS her mind around this man?

"Say 'goodbye' to Ms. Walsh, guys." "'Bye," both boys intoned. Lucky ushered Cam and Jake out of Kelly's, his mind working overtime. When he turned to look back at Claire, she was looking at him, watching as he led the boys from the diner.

"Lucky Spencer. Come in. Yours is a face I don't often see darken my door. Have a seat. How can I help you?" Jasper Jacks was curious to know why his soon-to-be-ex-wife's cousin had traveled to his offices. They rarely operated in the same circles.

"Jax—thanks for agreeing to see me. I know you were wondering why I asked to see you. I had some questions about someone, and I thought, given the circumstances, that you would be the best person to ask."

"Oh, ok, shoot."

"What do you know about Claire Walsh? I mean, since you are the one who brought her to Port Charles in the first place—I figured you might have the inside track…"

"Well, first of all, her being here isn't entirely my doing. I made a few phone calls to a friend at the Department of Justice, who, when I mentioned I was looking for someone tenacious to prosecute Sonny, recommended Claire Walsh. At the same time, however, she was doing what she could behind the scenes to get the case assigned to her. If I'm not mistaken, she blackmailed the previous DA to get him to step aside. She's focused, single-minded, driven."

"Blackmail? You know that for sure—that she blackmailed a colleague for the chance to prosecute Sonny's case?" This disturbed Lucky, though he couldn't exactly say why it bothered him.

"Well, Lucky, from what I know of Claire, she's basically honest, but she's not above bending or tweaking a rule or two for the greater good."  
"And her honesty is why you didn't tell her that it was Michael, and not Sonny, who killed Claudia Zacchara?"

"Exactly. I wanted her focused solely on Sonny. On the other hand, she's spoken to both Jason and Sonny; making deals with them without benefit of counsel—like I said, she does what she must to win. Her record is impeccable. Why the questions?"

Lucky thought for a moment on how best to phrase his response. "She told me she wanted to discuss some ideas with me about getting Michael released from prison. Dante and I have been racking our brains trying to find a legal way to make that happen, with no success. I was wondering what she knew, or was willing to do, that we hadn't already tried. She intrigues me…" Here his voice trailed off as he became lost in his musings.

"Really. Intrigues you? Personally or professionally?" Jax asked with a knowing smile. "Professionally, of course," Lucky responded, snapping back to the present. "Jax," he went on, "thanks for your time. I appreciate the insight."

"No problem—whatever I can do," said Jax, rising to his feet and shaking Lucky's outstretched hand.

"Blackmail, huh? Hmm." Lucky still couldn't pinpoint exactly why her willingness to resort to blackmail bothered him. But maybe it did fit what he was beginning to learn about her…

Lucky stared at Claire incredulously before looking around her office to get his bearings. "Yes," he thought, "I AM in Claire Walsh's office. I AM in the office of a federal prosecutor. Those really are her plaques on the wall—she really is an attorney." Aloud, he said as he leaned toward her, "Let me see if I'm understanding you right. You think it might be a good idea to get Sonny off the streets for good, which will open the door for certain senators and other people of influence to work harder to get Michael released from prison. You think the best way to accomplish this is to catch Sonny receiving a shipment of contraband. A shipment that, by the way, he knows nothing about, because it isn't really HIS shipment, it's John Zacchara's. Which brings me to the next impossible point—he brought this to you, and you are actually contemplating doing it. You want Sonny so badly that you're willing to enter an unholy alliance with John Zacchara. Incredible. I'm sitting here looking at you, and you **look **sane… Are you testing me or something? There is no way we're having a real conversation here."

"Look, Lucky, no one wants to help with Michael's case because of Sonny. He is the stumblingblock. With him out of the way, all kinds of doors open suddenly to help Michael. If I can get Sonny Corinthos convicted of trafficking, that's just a bonus at this point. This is about Michael—getting him released, and righting a wrong that never should have occurred. This is about getting an innocent boy"—Lucky broke in, "He's not entirely innocent—he DID kill Claudia, and help cover it up." "Fine. I'll concede that point. But he acted in defense of his mother and sister, and that deserved more consideration than Judge Carroll gave it. He was angry with the adult players, and he punished Michael for their actions. His parents' actions. His uncle's actions. Law enforcement's actions. Dante Falconeri's, and even yours. I would think you would be jumping through hoops to help me see this through—to secure Michael's release. You told me before that you and his family appreciated anything I could do to help Michael. Anything. But maybe you don't want to ruin your Boy Scout uniform. Maybe you don't feel any remorse at his situation . Maybe you don't think you did anything wrong here!" Her "Boy Scout" analogy again touched a sore point with Lucky, and he quickly leapt to his feet suddenly incensed.

"Hey, a lot of us bear responsibility for what happened with Michael! And you—you're not exactly an innocent, are you?" A twinge of guilt arose within her. There was no way he could know about her inappropriate jury tampering with John Zacchara? Her ire increased at his implication that she was somehow complicit in Michael's sentencing, and she jumped angrily to HER feet. "Now look here, Detective Spencer, I don't appreciate the suggestion that I'm guilty of any wrongdoing in the unfortunate circumstances surrounding Michael Corinthos! I was duped, led to believe an untruth and things snowballed! I resent you implying that I did anything illegal! Why don't you take your insinuations and innuendos, your 'shame on you' attitude, and get out of my office?" Claire stormed over to the door, reaching for the handle intending to throw Lucky out, not realizing that he was right on her heels. Even as she was jerking the door open, Lucky reached out, slamming it closed. He was standing so closely behind her that she could feel the heat of his body as he trapped her against the door.

"Why so hostile, CLAIRE?" he asked sarcastically. "'Detective Spencer'? A little while ago, you called me 'Lucky', now I'm 'Detective Spencer' again? What nerve did I touch? What HAVE you been up to?"

"I haven't been 'up to' anything and I suggest you back up—if you're trying to intimidate me, it's not working."

"I wouldn't dream of trying to frighten or intimidate you in any way; still, you are shaking. Why is that?" He leaned forward aggressively, crowding her further to whisper in her ear, "Are you sure I'm not getting to you, even a little bit? Who are you really mad at—me or yourself? I'd like to know where this sudden attitude is coming from."

"There is no 'sudden attitude'. Please back up."

"You can tell me to go screw myself if I'm wrong, if I've totally misread you, but I don't think you want me to back up. I don't think you'd mind if I"—he placed his hand on her waist. His left hand was still firmly pressed against the door, holding it shut. Her breathing accelerated. "You're very presumptuous, aren't you?"

"You think THAT'S presumptuous?" He slid his hand down the side of her uptight business skirt, down to the edge, rubbing the hem briefly between thumb and forefinger, teasing her. They both held their breaths as he touched her leg through her nylon stockings. Lucky lightly teased her, testing her response before placing his whole hand on her leg. "Nothing to say?" he asked her. Claire continued breathing heavily, but she didn't reply. Her skirt rose higher as he slowly moved his hand up her thigh. He paused when his hand encountered her garter belt. "Why, Ms. Walsh, you DO have hidden depths, don't you?" He stroked his longest finger in between the strap connecting the garter to her nylons and her skin, inching higher and higher with each stroke. Claire made no move to stop him. Realizing this, Lucky leaned fully against her, rubbing his face in her hair, inhaling its sweet scent. "You smell like vanilla spice—very feminine. I like it." "It's my shampoo. And why shouldn't I smell feminine—I'm a woman…"

"Yeah, I think I noticed that," he said, leaning into her, letting her feel how aroused he was. "Speak now or forever hold it," he went on. When she didn't protest, he moved his finger to the crotch of her panties, which were dampening by the moment. Finally, Claire released a trembling breath, leaning her head against the door. Her heart was beating madly while she waited to see what he would do next. He teasingly stroked his finger back and forth against her before pausing at the edge of her panties. Taking the plunge, he slid his fingers underneath, touching her trimmed bush before stroking more deeply. She was wet. "You're definitely not indifferent to me—good to know," he said softly in her ear. He made a move to probe further when the phone rang, startling them both. "I suppose I should stop, and let you answer that," Lucky whispered, feeling a sense of disappointment. "Please," responded Claire. "Looks like you've been saved by the bell," Lucky said, before removing his weight from her and watching her walk unsteadily to her desk to answer the phone. They stared at each other for a moment before she took a deep breath, and said "Claire Walsh" into the phone. Lucky, still scenting her fragrance on his fingers, reluctantly left her office.

The moment in the day that Lucky was dreading finally arrived when Claire approached his desk in the squad room. She glanced at Dante, who was looking questioningly back and forth between them. "Detective Spencer, may I speak to you privately?" "Sure. Let's go into the interrogation room—no one's using it right now." Dante gave Lucky a "what's she want?" look that Lucky didn't know how to return. He shrugged his shoulders as he followed Claire into the interrogation room. He was already saying, "Look, I'm so sorry," even as Claire was saying, "I feel like an absolute fool…" Lucky paused before adding, "Please, you first." Claire took a deep breath before explaining, "I still think it's a good idea, but I was wrong to compromise you. I was wrong to imply that you weren't willing to help your cousin because you didn't like the set up. I was wrong to try to involve you in something that could be construed as illegal if it ever came out. I was a little embarrassed because I thought you'd be so impressed… I'm so sorry, Lucky."

"Listen, I know you're frustrated, Claire. You must be, to consider working with John Zacchara. I think it's a bad idea, but I applaud your willingness to help Michael by any means necessary. I never meant to imply that you had anything to do with Judge Carroll's ruling. I'm sorry I got so angry. I regret my actions afterward. I disrespected you, something I never meant to do. I am sorry."

"You regret"—Claire was strangely a bit hurt by this.

"Don't get me wrong," Lucky answered. "You pissed me off, and initially when I had you against the door, I wanted to rip you a new one. At least, that's what I thought I wanted. Then I got close to you, and all I wanted to do was touch you." He closed his eyes as he remembered how she'd smelled, how soft she'd been. "I feel like I put my hands on you without permission, and that is not who I am. That's what I regret."

"I didn't exactly try to stop you. I think you know that I'm attracted to you, Lucky. I may not have appreciated the circumstances, but I didn't mind the outcome." They eyed each other for a moment.

"I'm not the best cook in the world, but I order a mean takeout. Would you like to join me for dinner tonight?"

Claire nodded, a slow smile spreading across her face. "I would love that."

"Seven, seven-thirty?"

"Sounds great. I look forward to it." She was still smiling broadly as she left the PCPD. Dante looked at Lucky when he returned to his desk. "So what did the Dragon Lady want?" he asked. "She's not so bad," Lucky told Dante. "It looks like I have a date with her tonight." "You must have a death wish," Dante laughed. Lucky was still remembering his body pressed against hers. "That kind of death, I can embrace."

Claire was nervous. She couldn't remember the last time she'd gone out on a date. Her career kept her very busy—prosecuting criminals was more than a job, it was a calling, and highly time-consuming. She wanted a family some day, but who had time to make it happen? She met very few men who were interested in her brand of driven intensity. She had fussed for at least an hour and a half trying to decide what to wear tonight. And now she was standing on the threshold of Lucky Spencer's apartment, dying to knock on the door, yet afraid to do so. "Come on, Claire," she chided herself, "you don't run from a challenge, no matter what form it comes in." Taking a deep breath, she gathered up her courage and gave the door three sharp knocks. It took a moment before Lucky answered the door, saying, "Claire. Right on time. Please, come in." He was freshly showered and his hair was still damp and laying to the side. He was casually dressed in a black long-sleeved v-neck sweater, which brought out the color of his blue eyes, and blue jeans. And he smelled so good… He looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face, and she realized that she hadn't said a word since she'd entered the apartment. "Everything ok?" he asked. "Yes, thank you. Of course it is. I'm just so nervous! I have no idea why! I think it took me forever to knock on your door. I think this whole afternoon took forever! And then I couldn't figure out what to wear, and traffic getting here was atrocious, and please stop me, because I'm babbling!" She laughed nervously. "Relax," Lucky replied. "Let me take your jacket. We're just two friends getting together for a meal. No pressure. And whatever time it took for you to decide what to wear was time well spent. You look great. Have a seat. Would you like a glass of wine?"

"Yes, that would be wonderful. Thank you. I love your place. I don't think I told you that the last time I was here. It's very red. Very funky. I mean funky in the good way…"

"Honestly," Lucky said from the front closet as he hung up her jacket, "I knew what you meant. Thank you. It feels like 'me'. It's starting to feel like home, too." There was something low and bluesy playing in the background. Lucky went into the kitchen and returned to the room with one glass of red wine, one of club soda. He handed the wine to her. Claire began to notice the musical theme of the front room. She pointed to the guitars on and against the walls, and as Lucky sat down she asked, "Are those for show, or do you play?"

"I dabble. I can play, but I don't do it nearly as often as I used to. Life seems to consume all of my playing time these days. Either I'm out on a case, or I have the boys—something always seems to come up. When I'm feeling particularly stressed out, though, I usually make time to strum a few chords. Mellows me out faster than anything else. Do you like the blues?"

"I've been known to listen to it a time or two, but it's not something I normally choose for myself. I'm more of a jazz type."

"I have a pretty decent jazz collection, too, but lately, I've been playing the blues more. I guess my music choices depend on my mood."

"Oh, I can understand that." She took a sip of her wine. "Which would you rather be—a musician or a cop?"

"In a perfect world? That's a tough one. I like the idea of making music . I like the joy that a well-written verse can bring to other people. Music is universal, and it crosses boundaries of language, culture. It speaks to me on a deep level. On the other hand, I traveled the world when I was a kid, with my parents. I've seen a lot of things. Pain, horror, evil—it exists everywhere. I like to think that in my own small way, I'm doing what I can to stem the tide of darkness. I think that's why I became a cop. To try to give something back, to help people in times of need. I don't know. I want my sons to grow up in a better world, and so I try to make that possible." He laughed self-consciously. "Not that I think I'm Batman or anything. How about you? What makes you a driven prosecutor?"

"Oh, I'm an over-achiever from a long line of over-achievers. I was the kid on the playground who was slick enough to make the bullies tell on themselves, using smarts and reverse psychology. It seemed like a natural fit. As I began pursuing law, I saw what men do to one another. How they get away with things. Bad things. Something about that really ticks me off. But the more involved I became in the system, the more I saw how hard it is to stay pure and still put the bad guys away. They have a set of rules that it seems like the law can't touch. I guess that's how I got sucked in to this deal with John Zacchara, not that I want to rehash that again." She sighed.

"I understand. Trust me, Claire, I do understand. Oh, hey, what do you want to eat? I didn't want to order without your input. What's your pleasure?"

"Do you have a good Mexican restaurant around here?"

"Yeah, El Gordolito's has good food, although I've never seen anyone eat Mexican food with wine…"

"I'll chance it," Claire replied. "I don't think it's a good idea to mix beer and wine. Order whatever you think I would like. Surprise me; I'm easy. Umm, when it comes to food, I mean." Lucky laughed as he placed the order. "They're usually pretty quick—twenty-five minutes, tops. They're not that far away, so we won't have long to wait."

A third glass of wine was loosening Claire's tongue, and after they'd finished their meal, they moved the conversation back to the couch in the living room. She asked Lucky the question that had been burning in her mind since their confrontation in her office. "Tell me, if you don't mind me asking. Why does the idea of being called a "Boy Scout" make you so angry?" He laughed, a bit surprised by the question. "Hmm. I guess the simplest answer is that my ex-wife, Elizabeth, seemed to think I was a 'goody-two-shoes' type, too. She seems to go for the 'danger is my middle name' guys, and she obviously didn't think that was me. I was her safe choice, the dependable one. I was the guy she could come back to after she finished screwing around. Cameron isn't my biological son, but I love him as if he was, and Jake"—Lucky broke off as he realized just how relaxed he was, and how he almost slipped up. "Well, let's just say Jake was supposed to put us back on track as a family. We both made some horrible mistakes with each other, but we'd, I thought, decided to make a fresh start, get remarried, have a stable home for the boys. Then this thing with Nikolas popped up. That was a deal-breaker for me. I love my brother, but I no longer trust him. I love Elizabeth, but that killed whatever longing I had for her. Now it's all about the boys for me, although for some reason, she wants me back again. The same sick cycle, over and over."

"Of course she wants you back! What's not to want? A good man who loves his kids, actually wants to be a father, doesn't run at the idea of being a husband? She was crazy to let you go! I know I would regret letting you go." Lucky blushed at the complement, ducking his head down, trying to keep from laughing. If he wasn't mistaken, Ms. Walsh was well on the way to being tipsy.

"Thank you for saying that. I appreciate it. I just wanted to do right by my family."

"You're a good man, Lucas Spencer," Claire said deliberately. "Don't let anybody tell you differnet. Different. You have the bluest eyes…" She gasped. "Please tell me I did not say that out loud. I think this last glass of wine maybe was a mistake. Is it hot in here, or is it me?" She looked at him with this sweetly goofy grin on her face, and suddenly, everything in him was urging him to kiss her. He reached out slowly, touching her hair, giving her time to stop him. Her eyes widened and she licked her lips, but she didn't push him away. He slid his hand from her hair to her neck, gently pulling her toward him. His eyes closed as the scent of vanilla spice hit his nostrils seconds before his lips touched hers. Softly, tentatively they kissed each other. He drew back, and they looked into one another's eyes before he placed both hands on her head, leaning into her, kissing her more fully. His lips teased hers open, allowing him to deepen the embrace. He slid his tongue into her mouth and she moaned aloud. She clutched his sweater for support because the combination of the wine and his kisses were making her light-headed. They both began breathing heavily as the kiss intensified and deepened**.** Lucky broke off and started kissing her neck, dropping drugging kisses on her skin. "What's happening here?" Claire asked. "Whatever you want. Nothing more," Lucky replied. "Do you want me to stop?"

"No. God, no. Don't stop." Lucky leaned her back onto the couch, following her down, still kissing her neck, the side of her face, her ear. Before he realized it, they were both fully lying on the couch. He was so aroused that he felt like his skin was on fire. Claire reached up and gripped his hair, pulling his lips back to hers for another drugging kiss. She ran her hand down his back, down to his ass, clutching it tightly. He broke off the kiss abruptly saying, "Claire, Claire, wait. Listen. I want you. You've got to know how much I want you, but you've been drinking, and I don't want to take unfair advantage. I don't want us to do something we'll both regret later. If you want to stop, now is the time to say so."

"What do YOU want?"

Lucky groaned. "That's not a fair question—don't ask me that."

"I want you, too. For once, I just want to feel. I just want to do. I'll think about the rest later." "If you're sure, then come with me."

"Where?" Claire asked.

"To my bedroom—I need more space and I'm sure as hell not taking you on the couch."

Lucky watched Claire as she paced back and forth nervously. "Claire, we don't have to do this. It's ok if you want to change your mind."

"I don't want to change my mind—it's just been a long time since I've done this, Lucky. I mean, a LONG time. I AM on the Pill, but still…"

He smiled and sat down on the edge of the king-sized bed before patting the mattress. "Come. Sit down. It's been a while for me, too, but I think it's like riding a bike. Some things you just don't forget. We'll take it as slow as we need to. By the numbers."

"The numbers?" Claire asked, sitting on the bed beside him. "What do you mean, the numbers?" "Remember when you were a kid and you had those 'connect the dots' books that, if you followed the numbers correctly, ended up making a recognizable shape? Two follows one, and so on? By the numbers. Step by step. No pressure. For example, when I do this"—he smoothed her hair out of his way before lightly sucking her neck, nipping her skin—"what does it make you want to do?" She released a shaky breath before saying, "Oh, I get it. When you do that, it makes me want to"—she turned her head, finding his mouth with hers for a mind-numbing kiss. "Ok, good. That's good," Lucky said when they broke apart. "Now when you did THAT, it made me want to do this"—he reached out and cupped her breast through her blouse, rubbing her nipple gently with his thumb. "Oh, God," Claire gasped, feeling his caress all the way down to her inner core. She arched more fully into his palm. "That makes me want to return the favor, but I think your sweater might be too thick." "Easily fixed," Lucky said, reaching for the hem of his sweater and pulling it over his head. He tossed it across the room onto the lounge chair in the corner. "Do you feel comfortable enough to get undressed, or do you still want to take it slow?" "I'm scared to death, but that's never stopped me before," Claire said, unbuttoning her blouse and then pausing. Lucky recognized her dilemma, chuckling aloud. "You're a neat freak, aren't you?" "Well, I don't want to ruin the passionate abandon of the moment, but I don't want my clothes wrinkled, either." They walked over to the lounge chair, beginning to shed the rest of their clothes. Lucky paused in the middle of removing his boxer briefs when he realized that she was wearing the garter belt and stockings under her slacks. He pursed his lips and his eyes narrowed. "Ooh," he said, "leave those on."

"I think you have a fetish for garter belts and nylons."

"If I do, it's new to me, but you do make a pretty picture in your lingerie. Wow." He led her back to the bed. "Don't you want to finish getting undressed?" she asked. "I like the idea of unwrapping the rest as we go. You don't care if your underwear gets wrinkled, do you?" he teased. "Very funny," she countered. "Now, where were we?" "I believe we were here," he said, reaching again for her breast, giving the tip a light tug through her bra. "Yes, and I remember I wanted to return the favor," she said, running her thumb over his flat, ruddy-colored nipple, smiling as he hissed and closed his eyes. She leaned forward and replaced her thumb with her lips, giving him a slight kiss. "What does that make you want to do?" she asked. Lucky wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back with him onto the bed. He cupped the side of her neck in his hand as he once again took her mouth, sliding his tongue against hers almost immediately. He increased the pressure of his lips on hers, groaning softly as he felt his prick stiffen even more. He moved his hand away from her neck, down to the strap of her bra, under it, easing it down, exposing her breast. Breaking the kiss, he voraciously latched on to her nipple, suckling it strongly, laving it wetly. "Ohh," she cried out as her pulse skyrocketed. "That feels so good." He dragged his mouth from one breast to the other, nipping her through the bra cup before reaching for the other strap, pulling it down, and exposing her fully. She looked at his face—such a look of wonder he had as he took in her beauty. "You're beautiful," he said, taking in her tightly beaded light brown nipples. He leaned down again, dropping slow kisses on first one soft mound, than the other, alternating faster between the two, adding pressure with each pass of his lips. Claire moaned and reached down, searching for the waistband of his briefs, sliding her hand inside, and finding his flesh. Lucky exhaled slowly, jerkily, his mouth opening involuntarily. His legs tensed up as she began stroking him from root to tip, running her thumb over his head, gently coaxing the sap from his slit and using it as a lubricant, stroking him faster. Lucky slapped his hand suddenly over hers, stopping her, breathing hard as he said, "Go easy. I told you it's been a while. I don't want to come yet."

"Well, how is this going to work? I want to touch you, too."

"If you come, we can keep going—if I come, it's going to be a while before we can go again. Maybe for now, you can touch other parts of my body, and save that for last, or at least toward the end. I just don't want to let either of us down."

"I'll try, but I'm making no promises," Claire finally conceded. "If you keep touching me, sucking me the way you were, my hands just might find you again, and if they do, we'll just have to go with it."

"A challenge? Is that a challenge I hear?"

"No, just fair warning. I won't be held responsible for what my hands choose to do."

"Ok, fair enough," Lucky laughed, "whatever happens, happens." He leaned up on his elbow, looking down into her smiling face. "You really are incredibly lovely, you know," he remarked. Claire tried to look away from his piercing gaze, but he held her chin fast, not allowing it. "Why do you do that? You don't know how to take a compliment?"

"I'm just not used to receiving them—I'm a little self-conscious, I guess."

"Well, I guess that's something we'll have to work on," he said, removing his hand, sliding it down her body. He held her eyes with his as he eased his hand down into her panties, lightly stroking her hair before delving deeper. She went to look away again but he stopped her, saying, "No, please don't. I want to see your face. I want to see what I'm doing to you, how it's affecting you." He slid two fingers inside her, using her own juices to ease his way as he rhythmically moved them in and out. "Oh. Oh, God, Lucky, ooh," she gasped, her back arching and her eyes blinking rapidly. Her mouth opened and closed as if she was trying to speak further, but could form no words. Finally, her eyes rolled back as her tongue pushed out against her upper lip. Her neck tensed, and her legs widened. She grunted softly and panted shallowly as she fought her climax. "Do I get to touch you yet?" she asked through clinched teeth, still fighting to hold on. "No, not yet. Come for me, just once. Let me hear you. Just let go." He pushed his fingers higher into her, rubbing his thumb rapidly against her clit, watching her reactions. "AAAHHHH! Oh, Godddd, that's so good! Oooh," she cried, grinding her face into his chest and rocking her hips against his fingers, unable to fight the effects of his skilled hands any longer. She reached up, grabbing his head in her arms, holding tightly, grinding her head against his as, using the same technique, he brought her shuddering into another climax. She was wide-eyed and shaking as he eased her back down onto the bed before quickly removing his briefs and her panties and rising over her. Gripping the tip of his prick, he rubbed it back and forth in her juices, over and over against her clit before finally entering her, feeling a strange sense of coming home as he eased his way into her tight, wet box. "Oh, Claire. Oh, God, Claire," Lucky groaned. "I wish you could feel how good this feels, to be inside you. How tight you are. My God. I don't know if I can hold on." "Then don't," she whispered. "Let go, Lucky. Come inside me." Her words released a trigger inside him, and as if a band suddenly snapped, he began rocking his hips against hers furiously. "OhGodOhGodOhWow—Clairrrre… God!" She raised her legs higher, resting her feet on his ass, causing him to gasp and cry out harshly as he thrust against her thrice more. He finally let go, and came as if every dam inside his body had been opened. Lucky ground his face into her hair, drowning in vanilla spice as he exclaimed, "Oh! Oh, wow. Aaaugh!" They were both breathing rapidly, looking at each other with a new awareness. Little by little, their senses began returning to them, their pulse rates slowing. "Are you ok? Did I hurt you?" Lucky asked her. "No, you were wonderful. It was perfect. Wow." Lucky began laughing, his shaking body setting off another reaction within Claire, who hissed as the little climax washed over her. "What's so funny?" she asked self-consciously.

"You, me, this, us. Nothing in life should feel this good. I can't remember the last time I felt this good. Thank you." He arched his hips, intending to pull out of her, but she stopped him. "Can we just lay like this for a while?" she asked. "Sure," he said, giving her a gentle kiss that deepened when she sent her tongue searching for his. He burrowed his head into her shoulder and she wrapped her arms around his back. They drifted off to sleep—him still nestled inside her, her arms still holding him close.

It was the stillness of the room that jerked Claire to awareness. She froze, allowing her senses to flare outward, trying to understand what was different about her bedroom. A heartbeat later, she realized four things at once: she was not in her bedroom, she had stayed overnight at Lucky's place, it was his arm around her, and he was still inside her. She sighed aloud. That frickin' wine! She remembered now—at some point during the night, he had shifted off of her and lay on her side, snuggling close. And during the wee hours of the morning, she awoke slightly to feel him lift her leg and enter her from behind, stroking gently back and forth. It had felt like a gentle massage, so slowly had he moved within her. She had tightened her inner muscles on him, they both came, and they slid back into a restful sleep. She racked her brain for the rules of etiquette—how does one extricate oneself from a man's bed when he is still inside one? Should she wake him up, should she cough out loud, should she scoot forward, hoping nature would do the rest? She sighed again. "Good morning. You're thinking so loudly that you woke me up," Lucky said groggily, his voice rusty from misuse. He leaned forward and dropped a light kiss on her back before realizing that they were still joined. He arched his hips, sliding away from her. "Sorry about that, but you were so warm and snug this morning that I didn't want to pull out. What time is it?" Claire looked around the room for a clock, her eyes finding the one on his bureau. "It's 6:45," Claire responded. "I need to get going if I'm going to get a shower and wash my hair before work this morning." Lucky groaned into his pillow. "'S too early—I don't have to be up for at least another forty minutes." "Well, I need to go now," Claire said, finally looking at him after she got out of the bed. "Hey, listen," Lucky asked, eyeing her owlishly, "are you ok? You don't regret what happened here, do you?" Claire was silent for a moment. "To tell the truth, when I first woke up, I did, a bit. This isn't something I make a habit of. But I'm looking at you, all adorable with your hair sticking up all over the place and your morning voice, and no, I don't regret it anymore. It was the best night I've had in a long time."

"Me too. I don't make a habit of doing this either. I had a wonderful time—I'm glad you stayed." "Ok," she said after she'd finished dressing, "I really have to go." She kissed Lucky's forehead. "Thanks again for a fantastic night."

"You're welcome. Thank YOU."

"YOU'RE welcome. I'll see you later." Claire left the bedroom and a moment later, Lucky heard the front door open and close. "Fantastic, huh," he thought to himself before rolling over onto his stomach and promptly falling back to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

"Lucky," Mac said, cornering him later in the day. "I seem to be missing something."

"Missing something like what, Mac? You think someone around here has been stealing?"

"No, that's not what I mean. Didn't you and Dante take a meeting with Jorge Ortega, one of the lower ranking members of the Colombian cartel infiltrating Port Charles? I thought he had some information for us?"

"Yeah, we had that meeting, and he had a few things to say—I don't know how helpful his 'tips' will be in the long run, though."

"Well, where is the report on the meeting?"

"Crap! I knew I was forgetting something yesterday! I got sidetracked... I'm sorry, Mac. When do you need it?"

"I want it now; I needed it yesterday."

"Sorry, Mac. Give me thirty minutes, and you'll have it." He'd meant to type up the report on the Colombians after lunch yesterday, but then he'd stopped by Claire's office, and—he felt a rush pass through his body as he thought again about pinning her against the door, and what had followed after they'd eaten dinner. He dug through his notes and began typing, but he'd opened the door of memory, and his thoughts wouldn't be stifled. The way she smelled, the softness of her skin, how responsive she was to his touch, all of that came rushing back to his mind in moments and remembrances. After dealing with Elizabeth's coldness for the past few months, Claire's openness and hunger was refreshing. And it wasn't just the sex... Lucky stopped typing, leaning on his desk, staring blankly at the computer screen. She'd seemed genuinely interested in him as a person. She admired him as a father. She lusted after the man. It would be very, very easy, if he wasn't careful, to fall for Claire Walsh. She's smart, driven, focused. Maybe she might skirt the law a bit, but only for just causes. Was there a just cause for skirting the law? Not that HE himself was perfect. He'd done things in the past... That didn't make her a bad person, did it? Her heart was in the right place, and she was trying to do what was best for Michael. That was a plus. Not to mention she had a rocking body in white lingerie... But that's not all he saw when he looked at her. Lucky began typing again, his thoughts still veering uncontrollably. He stopped to proofread what he'd typed so far. "...and according to Ortega, once the Colombians get a foothold in Port Charles, they are sweet and vulnerable under the tough exterior, making her very approachable." He shook his head as he backspaced over the last part of his report. He really needed to get his head back in the game. He finally finished the report forty-five minutes later, handing it to a scowling Mac, before returning to his desk. Right as he sat down, his cell phone rang. "Detective Spencer. What? Hey, man, Dante, slow down. What did you say? Are you serious? You've gotta be joking with me right now! Are you serious? That's awesome news, man! How did you convince him? Yeah, I'll bet! Oh, I know you are! Yeah, I can meet you over there for lunch. No, wait, hang on—why don't we make that a beer tonight at Jake's? I have somewhere I need to go right now. Man, don't worry about that! I'm not gonna fall off the wagon after one beer, but we need to celebrate! Ok, later."

Claire was sitting at her desk lost in musings of her own when she heard a knock on the door. "Come in."

"Claire." Lucky poked his head around her office door. "Are you busy?"

"Not too busy to talk to you. What's going on?"

"I just got off the phone with Dante," he said, entering her office. "You're not going to believe this, but he and Judge Carroll had an 'open, heart-to-heart conversation,' and the judge agreed to suspend Michael's sentence. I didn't get all the particulars, but it looks like Michael is coming home. Whatever Dante said must have gotten to him..."

"Well, Detective Falconeri can be quite compelling and convincing when he wants to be. I'm sure that's what the judge saw and heard, too. This is the best news I've had all day, Lucky. Thanks for coming over to tell me personally. That's a load off my mind. When I think of how hard everyone has been working to secure his release..." Lucky didn't hear the last part of her sentence. His mind was stuck on hearing her describe Dante as "compelling and convincing." Claire realized that Lucky was no longer listening to her. "Lucky. Lucky? Where'd you go?"

"Just how 'compelling and convincing' do you find Detective Falconeri?"

"What? What do you mean?"

"You said you find Detective Falconeri 'compelling and convincing.' I was wondering what you meant by that."

"Well, he has an earnestness and a conviction that shines through whenever he talks about the law, or about right and wrong. He was able to talk me around, and I knew he was lying when he said he accidentally shot himself. He knows how to present a case, that's for sure. If he wanted to be one, he'd probably make a good lawyer some day. If anyone could convince Judge Carroll to release Michael, it would be him. Why do you ask?" He stared at her without speaking. "Wait a minute. You couldn't possibly be jealous? Look, all I meant is that he can be persuasive when he chooses to be. You've heard him—you know. He's your partner; you work with him every day, so you know how he is." She looked at him in puzzled bewilderment, and he realized how ridiculous he was being. She obviously wasn't "attracted" to Dante. He laughed self-deprecatingly. "I'm sorry. I think I'm cranky because I missed lunch typing up a report for Mac that I should have given him yesterday."

"Derelict in your duties? That doesn't sound like you, Detective. Why were you late getting him the report?"

"Why don't we discuss that over Chinese food? Do you have time to share some takeout with me?" She smiled as she pushed her phone at him. "Number four on the speed dial."

"So I wonder," Claire stated as they neared the end of their meal, "what exactly did Detective Falconeri say that convinced the judge to give Michael another chance?"

"I'm not sure, but I'm having drinks with Dante tonight at Jake's so he can fill me in on all the details. I know you said you were hesitant about trying new things, but you really should taste this squid. Something about the ginger gives it a real zing." He gave her an "I dare you" look.

"Fine. Why not? You only live once, right?" She reached for the carton, but he jerked it back. Digging around in the container, he found the largest piece of squid he could find, and picking it up with his chopsticks, he reached out, leaning in her direction. She opened her mouth to receive the morsel, licking her lips as she chewed the meat. "Well?" he asked. "What do you think?" "It's a little mushy," she responded after considering for a moment. "I don't think it will become one of my favorites." He scooped the last of the squid into his mouth and sat the empty carton on her desk, leaning back in his chair. "Whew. That was good. Of course by the time I get to Jake's tonight, I'll be starving again..." "Isn't that the funny thing about Chinese food?" Claire asked. "I wonder why that is? Are you finished with yours?" She began clearing away the remnants of their lunch, throwing the empty containers in the trash before returning to her chair and sitting down. "One thing I'm relieved about with this whole 'Michael' situation," Lucky mused, "is now you have no reason to enter this alliance with John Zacchara. I'm assuming you plan to turn him down now that Michael will be freed soon?"

"You know what they say—never assume. I'm still thinking it over."

"Claire," began Lucky in an admonishing tone.

"Lucky," she responded.

"Well, you're going to do what you're going to do, but just be careful. Zacchara isn't playing with a full deck most of the time, and I'd hate to see you do something you'll regret or can't take back." Claire sat back in her chair and crossed her legs, unwittingly calling Lucky's attention to them. "I rarely go into a situation without first thinking about everything that could potentially go wrong. I know that John Zacchara is a loose cannon at best, but I also know that he wants to take Sonny Corinthos down in the worst way. That could work in my favor. I haven't made any final decisions yet. And you're right—having Michael out of prison does change the game a bit. I feel a little less pressure now. I hated the idea of that kid languishing in prison for two minutes, let alone two years. I'm also wondering how this is going to change things for Jason Morgan, and for that matter, Sonny himself. What do you think? Lucky?" Claire realized that she'd lost his attention a while back in the conversation. "Hmm?" Lucky replied. "What do you think?" She repeated.

"About what?"

"About what Michael being out of prison is going to mean for Jason Morgan and Sonny."

"To be honest, I'm not really thinking about that right now."

"Then what are you thinking about?"

"Right now, I'm wondering what you have on under that skirt, if you want to know the truth. You crossed your legs, and my mind went to nylons and garter belts. Sorry."

"That's all it took? I crossed my legs, and that was it?"

"I'm a man. I'm very basic." He stared into her eyes. "So, are you going to show me, or do I have to keep guessing, because my imagination is working overtime here." She looked back at him, her eyes narrowing, her head cocked to the side. "Are you daring me? Because it's barely after five o'clock—I'm sure there are people still working in the building..."

"No, I hope I'm 'persuading' you." Claire looked at her office door almost reflexively. "Don't worry," Lucky said, reading her mind. "I locked it as soon as the delivery guy left. No one is going to walk in and interrupt us. You're quickly running out of excuses." He grinned at her mischievously. This was becoming fun, watching her struggle against her true nature. For her part, she had never done anything so, so **abandoned **in her life. The smile on his face told her that he thought she wouldn't go along, that she was too uptight, and that alone made the decision for her. She stood up from her chair and walked over to her desk, resting against it. She watched him watch her, and swallowing hard, she reached for the seams of her skirt, gripping each side, slowly inching it upward. He licked his lips as he tracked her progress. He soon realized that she was wearing thigh-high nylons, but no garter belt. "Sorry to disappoint you," she said, getting ready to let her skirt fall back in place. "Stop. Who said I'm disappointed? Keep going."

"You said you wanted to see what I had on under my skirt, and now you know. I thought that was the point."

"That WAS the point," he said, finally rising from the chair and walking toward her, "but now I'm on a different mission."

"What do you have in mind?" she asked him, her eyes widening as he dropped to his knees in front of her.

"Spread your legs."

"Lucky..." Claire began warningly.

"Do it. Come on, Claire. You came this far, don't back out now. Spread your legs." She took a deep breath as she grabbed the edge of her desk, holding on tightly before doing as he asked, and spreading her legs.

"Wider."

"Lucky..."

"Just do it." Her heart felt as though it was going to jump out of her chest, and she sighed a little. "I've never done anything like this before—had sex in my office." "There's a first time for everything, isn't there?" Lucky asked, rubbing his nose and lips against her thigh. He pulled her skirt up all the way, dragging it past her hips to her waist, saying, "Hold this." Eventually he nuzzled her crotch, deeply inhaling her scent, causing her to draw a shuddering breath. Opening his mouth widely, he licked her, saturating her panties with his tongue before turning the licking into a long, open-mouthed kiss. He inched his tongue underneath the edge, caressing bare skin, causing her to squirm uncontrollably. Leaning back and looking into her eyes, he held her gaze with his as he slowly began pulling her panties down her legs. When he realized that he couldn't get them off without her closing her legs first, he gripped them hard, ripping the material, tossing the ruined scraps behind him. She was shocked. "What am I supposed to wear home? It's not like I just keep spares lying around in my office..." Her voice hit a crescendo as with renewed purpose, he began licking her again, holding her open with his thumbs, darting his tongue up in her channel, sampling her juices. His tongue then circled her clit, softly at first, then harder, rubbing and flicking, before sucking it into his mouth. She let go of the desk, grabbing his head as if to push him away, crying out, "Lucky! Ooh! It's too much! You've got to stop!" He was hard as a rock and suddenly impatient to be inside her. Knocking her hands away and rising to his feet, he quickly lifted her onto the desk. Unfastening his belt and jeans, he lowered them and his briefs just enough to free himself as he spread her legs wider and, grasping his prick, he aimed and entered her in one motion. He shuddered as the warmth and heat of her body surrounded him, as her wetness aroused him further. Holding her bent legs in the crooks of his arms, he slowly thrust against her, almost pulling all the way out before forcefully pushing back in. Her head was bent back toward the ceiling, her hands still clutching the edge of her desk as he continued prodding her. He grunted as he began moving faster, slamming into her, flesh pounding against flesh. "Claire, look at me," he gasped, gripping her legs even tighter. She was breathing laboriously, mewling softly as she struggled to meet his gaze. His eyes seemed to bore into hers as he powerfully drilled into her, pushing her towards her climax. She screamed aloud, then slapped her hand over her mouth, quickly remembering where she was. "Take-your-hand away," he insisted breathlessly. "Nuh uh," she said behind her fingers. "Some-one will hear meeee, oh, God!" "I don't care," he hissed, "let them." "I have—to-work heeere, ohhh, Lucky—Goddd!" she wailed as she came hard, her hands grabbing his arms, her hips bucking spontaneously. He leaned forward, kissing her open-mouthed, biting her lips and grunting roughly against them as his orgasm washed over him. He let her legs fall as he wrapped his arms tightly around her, kissing her with passionate intensity. She reached for him, returning the embrace. He gentled the kiss, suckling her tongue slowly. At length he broke away and they leaned against each other in exhaustion, still gasping for air. He groaned out a breath. "Ohh. I think I could fall out right here," he said, looking at her through half-mast, sated eyes. He brushed a soft buss against her lips. "I had planned to continue working," she returned, "but now I'm too tired. Maybe I should just call it a night, and go home instead."

"At least you have that option. I still have to meet Dante at Jake's. And now I'm getting hungry again."

"I still have to make it out of this building hoping I don't see anyone who heard us. And without underwear. I can't believe you ripped my underwear off."

"I believe in efficiency. Whatever works—I'm all about the path of least resistance." She laughed as she took in his smug, self-satisfied smile.

"You're pretty pleased with yourself, aren't you?"

"Did I please you?"

"I think you know you did."

"Then I'm pretty pleased with myself."

"You realize you're still inside me, right?"

"I was wondering when you were going to point that out." He allowed his body to slide from hers. "Talk about efficient. I didn't even get my pants off." He pulled up his briefs and jeans and refastened his belt. He couldn't believe how eager he'd been to make love to her. "I hope you don't think I'm totally classless."

"Actually," she responded as he helped her stand up and steady herself, smoothing her skirt back into place, "I guess it's flattering that you were so impatient to have me. What I can't believe is that I had sex in my office. I used to think THAT was classless." She shook her head ruefully.

"And now?"

"Now I highly recommend it."

Lucky went home to take a quick shower before he went to Jake's, so by the time he arrived, Dante and LuLu were already seated and drinking their beers. "Hey, sis," he said to LuLu, brushing a light kiss against her hair, "I didn't know you would be here." He bumped fists with Dante. "Good work, man. You can tell me all about it after I get my beer." LuLu looked at him apprehensively, obviously wanting to protest, but thinking better of it. Lucky noticed all the same how uncomfortable she was. "Look, if it'll make you feel better, I'll get a soda. I don't think one beer will hurt me, LuLu." "No, I'm sure you're right, and I didn't mean to make you feel bad. If you want to get a beer, go ahead." She still looked as though she hoped he wouldn't, so, shaking his head, he walked to the bar and ordered a root beer instead. "Now," Lucky said as he returned to his seat, "tell me what happened with Judge Carroll." Dante paused to collect his thoughts before beginning his story. "...and so finally," he said, winding up his tale, "the judge realized that the stuff Michael was learning in prison wasn't what he'd had in mind when Michael was sentenced. After we hammered out the terms of his release, mainly that Michael would have to stay away from Sonny, and live with me—ankle bracelet, curfew, community service—the whole shot, Judge Carroll agreed to a conditional reduction in Michael's sentence." "Man, that's impressive. When I told Claire about it she said you could be 'compelling and convincing' when you wanted to be. She even thinks you'd make a good lawyer. It sounds like you knocked it out of the park. Have you told Michael yet? And his parents?" "No, I'm going to Pentonville in the morning, and Judge Carroll said he would call Sonny and Carly in the morning also. Man, I am so jazzed! I know we were racking our brains trying to find a way to make this happen, and nobody wanted to give up. I'm just glad he was willing to listen to me. Hey, wait a second," Dante said, realizing who Lucky had mentioned. "When did you talk to Claire?"

"I dropped by her office to tell her in person that you and Judge Carroll had come to an agreement. We ended up having lunch." He tried to keep a bland look on his face, but his sister knew him better than that, and his partner was no dummy, either. "Lucky," LuLu said, looking at her brother's face, "what's going on with you and Claire Walsh?" "Yeah," Dante added teasingly, "first dinner dates, and now lunch? What's next?" Lucky felt his face flush red. "Oh, I see! You've already had 'what's next'! Way to go!" LuLu was a bit more cautious as she asked, "Lucky, what about Elizabeth? What's she going to do when she hears that you're seeing Claire Walsh?" "I'm not sure I'd say we're 'seeing' each other..." he paused before saying, "but what if we are? It's really not any of Elizabeth's business what I do anymore. And I like being with Claire. There's no baggage there, no drama. We have a good time together. Easy companionship, good conversation-"

"Good sex?" asked Dante, smirking.

"Great sex, if you must know, smart guy," Lucky retorted.

"I'll drink to that," Dante said, lifting his beer and laughing at the face LuLu was making.

"You guys are such-"

"Men?" Lucky and Dante said in unison, bumping fists again when they realized they were in sync.

"Yeah, that's the word I was looking for. Not. Do you think Elizabeth will try to keep you from seeing the boys if she finds out you're dating again?"

"I don't think she will, but if she does, she'll have a fight on her hands. I'm pretty sure she has too much on her mind getting ready for this new baby to give me any problems with Cam and Jake. I'm not worried about it, so you shouldn't be, either. Tonight, we celebrate! To the silver-tongued devil, and to Michael's release," Lucky said, lifting his bottle high.

"To Michael's release," repeated Dante and LuLu, laughing at Lucky's toast, clinking their beer bottles against his.

The next morning, Claire made sure she got to her office early. She wanted to avoid seeing anyone in the office building who might have heard her and Lucky the day before. She was relieved when she realized that she was one of the first people to arrive. Claire entered her office and sat down at her desk, activating her voicemail for last night's messages. Her mind drifted as she thought about how just yesterday afternoon, she was actually sitting on top of her desk, and Lucky was... She still couldn't believe what they'd ended up doing. She never was the type to do something so—so... Well, she was having a hard time finding the proper term to describe indulging in"office sex." She'd always thought such activities were beneath her. Low-brow, low-class; however one described it, it wasn't something in which she ever thought she would take part. Not until Lucky. He had a way about him that challenged her to do things, think things that she never would have considered before. And being with him was fun! She couldn't remember the last time she'd just let go and had fun. She enjoyed being with him. He might still be hung up on his ex-fiancee/wife, but he obviously found her fascinating as well. He looked at her as if she were a mystery he was determined to solve, and she liked that, too. She had no idea where this "thing" with Lucky Spencer was headed, but she planned to have a good time and enjoy it while it lasted. She was startled out of her reverie by a knock on the door, and she couldn't help it—her heart began to race. The last knock she'd gotten preceded one of the best afternoons she'd had in a long time. "Come in," she called out, mildly disappointed when she saw that it was John Zacchara and not Lucky. "Mr. Zacchara. Good morning. I was wondering when I might hear from you again. Please, have a seat."

"I was wonderin' when I was gonna hear from you, too. I told you, matters like this take plannin' to set up, and time was a factor. I thought maybe you were blowin' me off, so I decided to come to you. I think we should just cut to it. Are you in, or out?"

"Well, I have given the 'matter,' as you call it, a great deal of thought. On the surface, it might very well be a worthwhile enterprise, but overall, there are too many things that can go wrong. Mr. Corinthos might not show up to receive the shipment. He might have a way to prove that the shipment isn't his, and that he's being set up. My involvement could come to light. The bottom line is, good idea or not, it's still illegal. I plan to bust Sonny Corinthos, but I want to find"-she paused as she remembered the way Lucky phrased it- "a legal way to achieve this end."

"You've never been able to get him before, so what makes you think this time out will be any different? I'm offerin' you a solid opportunity to make it happen. You might want to think twice before turnin' me down. I need your contacts with the Feds to make the bust. We've worked together in the past tryin' to bring Sonny down; why mess up a good thing?"

"So we're moving from the realm of needing my help to threats and blackmail to coerce my cooperation? Is that what I'm hearing, or did I misinterpret your meaning?"

"All I'm sayin' is that this wouldn't be our first time joinin' forces."

"Can you prove that?" Johnny was silent as he realized that he never made a recording of any kind of their conversation because he hadn't thought he would need one. They both had been so sure that Sonny would be going down for Claudia's death; he thought that a prison sentence for his sister's death would be the end of Sonny Corinthos once and for all.

"No, I didn't think so," Claire went on, relieved that she was right, and therefore out from under John Zacchara's control. That had been a close call, and she was determined to never allow something so potentially career-ending, not to mention worthy of jail time to happen to her again. Not for the sake of locking up any criminal, not even one as sought after as Sonny Corinthos. Her relief was evident as she continued, "Look, Mr. Zacchara. What I might be able to do is warn local law enforcement that 'something' might be taking place at such and such a time. I don't really want to involve any of my friends and contacts in a thing that has 'potential snafu' written all over it. I would strongly advise you to let it go as well. Mark my words—we will arrest Mr. Corinthos one day, and it will stick. He only thinks he's Teflon, but no one is untouchable forever."

"I can warn the PCPD myself," Johnny grumbled, rising to his feet in disgust. "The Feds would carry more weight, as you know. I'm not givin' up—Sonny's goin' down for, among other things, what he did to my sister. I've had enough of him skatin' free."

"I understand your frustrations, and I share them; however, I have to remember that I am bound by laws. You are free to do whatever you want, and I wish you luck."

"Thanks for nothin."

"You're welcome. I am sorry that I couldn't give you the answer you wanted. And Mr. Zacchara? A word of caution. Don't end up getting caught in the very trap you've set for Mr. Corinthos. That would be a regrettable mistake." Throwing Claire an angry look, Johnny left her office, his head exploding and his heart full of rage. Somehow, some way, Sonny was going to pay...

Claire sat back, closing her eyes and breathing a sigh of intense relief. If John Zacchara had made a recording of their conversation during that debacle of a trial, her life and career might be taking a whole different turn. She couldn't believe she'd almost allowed her desire to win at all costs to ruin her future. And she had thought the idea he'd presented to her was a good one, a sound one. Sure there were problems and things that could go wrong, but she'd been willing to at least think about it, maybe even to go for it. What changed her mind? Or rather, who? Lucky Spencer, that's who. Lucky Spencer with his "Boy Scout" ways, his "two wrongs don't make a right" philosophy. His disappointment when he realized she was seriously considering helping John Zacchara. She'd allowed all that to sway her. If she wasn't careful, she was going to end up giving Lucky Spencer's opinion of her way too much credence. She shook her head as she opened her laptop, determined to remove Lucky from her mind, and actually get some work done.


	3. Chapter 3

The weekend dawned bright and sunny, with just a hint of a breeze. Cameron and Jake begged their father to take them once again to the park, and the day was so perfect that he couldn't refuse them. It was a rare weekend that Elizabeth actually had away from the hospital, and she was surprised when Lucky asked her if she wanted to accompany them to the park. "Listen, Elizabeth," Lucky had said when she asked if he was sure he wanted her to go with them, "I don't want to be your enemy. I was beyond angry and hurt about you and my brother, but we have two sons together. I'm doing my best to let the rage subside. We're going to have to forge some kind of relationship for Jake and Cam's sake—I'm willing to try if you are. If you'd like to come with us to the park, you're more than welcome to." So that afternoon Lucky found himself sharing a blanket with his ex-fiancée, planning to have a picnic lunch with the boys after they'd finished playing. Elizabeth had a strange look on her face, and Lucky couldn't tell if she was uncomfortable down on the ground, or if something was on her mind. "Are you alright? Would you feel better on one of the benches instead of the ground? We can always move…" "No, I'm fine, Lucky. Thank you for asking, though. I just"—she trailed off, grimacing. "Spit it out, Elizabeth, whatever it is. What's wrong?" She paused, thinking of the best way to broach the subject on her mind. "You know how Port Charles is; we're such a small community when it comes to gossip…" "Ok, that's true," Lucky agreed. "What sort of gossip?" Elizabeth sighed. "Maybe I should leave it alone, but I heard… I heard that you and Claire Walsh are seeing each other." Lucky frowned and rubbed his chin as he looked at her in consideration. "We have been spending time together lately, if that's what you're asking. We just happened to be in the park talking one day, and we kind of hit it off. Is there a problem?"

"I'm not sure how I feel about her spending time with the boys, that's all."

"You're serious? You have a problem with Claire spending time with Cam and Jake? Why?"

"I don't really know her. I don't know what kind of influence she'll be on them. I don't know. I just don't think it's a good idea. And they might get used to having her around, and if she's going to be in and out of their lives…" Lucky stared at Elizabeth in disbelief, trying to find the best way to express himself without anger. "Let me get this straight. You don't know anything about Claire, but you think she might be some kind of bad influence on our children? And you think I'd allow that? Meanwhile, I have to deal with you spending time with my brother with MY sons in tow, making visits to Windemere because of this new situation you and Nikolas created. With Helena Cassadine on the loose, running amok and spreading her own brand of crazy on my family. What part of any of that do you think I approve of? I told you that I would do what I had to in order for this to work out for all of us, and I've been as, as **magnanimous** as I know how to be without totally losing it. What is this really about? Why be this way about someone you don't even know?"

"And you do? Do you know her, Lucky?"

"I'm getting to know her pretty well. I don't think she'll be any more of a negative influence on the boys than Nikolas will be. I have to put up with him—you'll have to find a way to put up with Claire."

"But I'm not in a relationship with Nikolas any more. He is only in our lives for the baby's sake."

"If that's your 'not so subtle' way of asking me if Claire and I are in a relationship, all I can tell you is that I am—that we are…" Lucky exhaled sharply in frustration. "We're enjoying each other's company," he finished finally. "We're just taking each day as it comes." Elizabeth turned away from Lucky's gaze, looking toward the boys as she tried unsuccessfully to wipe away a tear without him noticing. "So you've utterly given up on us ever having a chance?" she queried with a trembling voice. Lucky was not only shocked, but he was beginning to find the conversation uncomfortable. "Surely you realize," he began, also staring in the direction of the boys, "that what we had was unhealthy. It really was, Elizabeth. We don't seem to know how to stop repeating the same old patterns. You hurt me, I hurt you… It's better this way—you must see that. It's a change for both of us, and I know it's hard, but it'll be better in the long run." She finally turned her gaze back to him, her tears falling faster. "I don't think I'll ever get over the idea of wanting us to get back together one day. I'm sorry, Lucky, I can't even tell you how"- Lucky stopped her before she could continue. "Listen, Elizabeth, you don't have to keep apologizing to me. I know how regretful you are. We both made mistakes. It is what it is. We both have to let go and move on, and you know what? It's ok. We're both going to be ok. The boys will be ok. They have us, and soon, they'll have a new brother or sister"- "I just had another ultrasound; it's a boy." "Hmm. Well. Congratulations. They'll have a new brother to play with and teach things to. And we'll go on, and it will all be ok." She began to cry in earnest then, realizing that he really was trying to move forward, and that he sounded determined to do it without her. "Shh, don't cry. Don't cry." Lucky awkwardly put his arm around her shoulders, hugging her briefly to him. "It's just the hormones," she said, laughing through her tears, leaning into him. "I'm sure it is," he teased, grateful that the tenor of the conversation was lightening up at last. Cam and Jake had been playing happily in the sand but they came running when they saw their mother crying. "Mommy," Cam asked in a quavering tone, "what's the matter? Are you ok?" Jake launched himself against his mother's side, burying his head in her shoulder. "Mommy's fine," Lucky answered for her. "Sometimes ladies with babies in their tummies cry a little bit. Right, Mommy?" "Daddy's right," Elizabeth said, hugging Jake and pretending to bite his neck, causing him to laugh at being tickled. "I'm fine. We're all going to be fine. Aren't you two hungry? Don't you want some lunch?" At the mention of food, the boys both quickly sat down on the blanket, allowing Lucky to clean their hands with bottled water and wet wipes. Elizabeth reached into the picnic basket, setting up the plates, sandwiches and chips. She smiled and laughed when Jake demanded apple juice instead of water, and she and Lucky shared a parental chuckle. Lucky breathed an inward sigh of relief. "Mini crisis averted," he thought.

After seeing Elizabeth and the boys back home, Lucky was in the mood for some lighthearted fun. He picked up a couple of comedy DVDs from a movie rental store, also deciding at the last minute to throw in some candy and popcorn. He debated inwardly over whether or not to call Claire, but he knew he didn't really want to be alone, and he also wanted to see her. "She might already have plans," he thought, "but here goes nothing." He punched in her number on his cell phone, and unknowingly held his breath. She answered breathlessly on the fourth ring, "Hello?" "Hey, Claire, it's Lucky. You sound like you were in the middle of something. Did I catch you at a bad time?" "No, I was just coming in from the grocery store, and I heard the phone ringing, and you know how it is when you're in a hurry to grab the phone before it stops ringing… What's up?" "I picked up a couple of movies and I was wondering if you wanted to come over and watch them with me. Nothing noteworthy, just comedies. I was in the mood for a laugh, and I thought you might be, too. If you have other plans, we can do it another night, though." "No," she said, "I wasn't planning on doing anything special tonight. I can come over. Do you need me to bring anything?" "Not really, unless you want to bring some beer or wine. I don't have either in the apartment, so if you want some"- Claire thought back to the last time she'd had wine in Lucky's presence. "No, that's all right. I'm sure whatever you have there will be fine." "So I'll see you in a bit?" "I'm on my way," she replied, wondering how long it would take her to change into something more "date-worthy."

Lucky was sitting the bowl of popcorn on one of the living room "tables" when Claire arrived. She was slightly surprised as she took in his attire. He was wearing a white tank shirt and black jeans, and she couldn't help but stare at his upper torso. He wasn't a big guy, but he was toned and he had definition in his arms and chest… "You're staring," Lucky said, laughing at her facial expressions. "I'm sorry," she replied, coming into the living room and sitting down on the couch. "I really like the casual look on you." "I'm always casually dressed," he remarked, still grinning at her. "Ultra casual, then," she said, smiling at how obviously pleased he was to catch her admiring him. "What movies did you get?"

"Just a couple of Adam Sandler movies. I've seen them both, but he's always good for a laugh, and I needed one today."

"Why? What happened today?"

"I took the boys to the park. I invited Elizabeth along because she actually has the weekend off, and I thought it would be good for the boys to see us getting along, spending time together."

"Sounds reasonable so far. What went wrong?"

"Somehow, she heard about us through the rumor mill. She was more than a little disturbed when I told her we were seeing each other. We almost had 'words,' but I think we were both trying hard not to go there. It got tense for a while, though." Claire looked at him, a slight frown on her face. "Is that what we're doing? Are we 'seeing' each other?" "Well," Lucky countered, "what would you call it?" She thought for a moment. "I'd call it spending time together, enjoying each other's company. It's not like we're going steady." "That's true," he responded, "but we are also having sex during this time that we spend together, enjoying each other's company. You want to keep what we have right now undefined? You're ok with that?" "Yeah, I'm ok with that," she said. "We're keeping it loose, taking it as it comes. Right?" "That's pretty much what I told her, but I wanted to make sure you were all right with that. I didn't want to be offensive, or assume anything." She reached for the bowl of popcorn as he picked up the remote and started playing the first movie. He hesitated before putting his arm around her shoulders. "Maybe I should ask permission before I do this," he joked. "Look," she said, slightly exasperated, "I don't want things to be weird between us. Just do whatever you would have done before we had this conversation." "In that case," Lucky retorted as he reached out and grabbed her chin, turning her head toward him, and kissing her lips softly, "let me finally say a proper 'hello.'" She smiled a little at his silliness, brushing her lips against his in a light kiss of her own. Snuggling together, they sat back and began watching the rest of the movie.


	4. Chapter 4

The next few weeks passed in a hive of activity for both Claire and Lucky. Some days they met with Dante and Detective Ronnie Dimestico, on loan from the NYPD, on a task force created especially to end the Mob presence in Port Charles. Their original intention was to use the knowledge Dante and Ronnie had gained while undercover in both the Corinthos and Zacchara organizations to find something, anything useful to bring down Sonny Corinthos. Those days were spent arguing back and forth, Claire willing to use Dante's knowledge to move forward, Dante insisting that Sonny was too smart to keep his organization the same as it had been now that he knew Dante was a cop. During those conversations, Lucky and Ronnie were amused bystanders as they listened to the bickering. Claire was certain that if she just kept plugging away at it, something would pop out, something that they'd previously missed, that "one thing" that would make the definitive difference and lead to an indictment. Another problem more worrisome was the gradual introduction of the Colombian cartel into Port Charles. Little by little, the Ordoñez Family, led jointly by one Joaquin Sebastian Ordoñez, and his sister, Pilar, were making their presence known in town. It was alleged that they had ties to a lesser-known cartel, the North Coast Cartel, and they were branching out, making a name for themselves. The idea of an influx of drugs into Port Charles was troubling enough, but the thought of a war for territory kept the task force meeting late into the evenings discussing strategies.

And then there were the nights. Some nights after the task force meetings ended, Lucky, Dante and Claire would go to Jake's to unwind and try to rid themselves of the stresses of the day. They would talk about their childhoods, sports, best places in town to eat—anything to lighten the atmosphere created by dealing daily with such weighty challenges. There were times when Claire would go home and crawl into bed utterly drained by the enormous responsibilities that crime-fighting presented. There were also times when she and Lucky would go home together... She continued trying to convince herself that what she and Lucky had was casual, but there were times when she caught herself calling what they did on some of those nights "making love" instead of "having sex." They were beginning to build a connection that was getting harder to deny. Sometimes when they were both too tired after a long day strategizing, they would just fall into bed together, holding each other until they fell asleep. Then the "overnight bag" started making an appearance. It was so much more convenient to leave for work from Lucky's apartment than to rush home and get ready there. Timesaving. At least, that's what they told themselves, unwilling to admit that anything more was happening.

Claire was becoming acquainted with Cam and Jake, too. On some of the weekends that Lucky spent with his boys, Claire was right there, holding little hands on outings, wiping little noses, making appropriate responses to childish babbling. This, for her, was the most frightening part of the time she and Lucky spent together. She loved it. Some days she would secretly fantasize that they were a family and she knew that was dangerous, but she couldn't restrain her thoughts, and the desires would flood her mind.

Lucky was having his own problems keeping things with Claire casual. Whenever she entered the room and he saw her, for example, his heart began beating faster. They would see each other at Kelly's, or in the squad room and his reaction to her presence was visceral. He would listen to her and Dante arguing back and forth during their task force meetings and think, "Listen to her. She's so brilliant, and her mind is like a steel trap." He was not willing to admit that what he was feeling in those moments was pride in her, and in their association. He was enjoying watching her find her way with Cam and Jake. It was obvious that she wasn't used to being around children, but it was also obvious that his boys were capturing her heart. She really made an effort to listen to them and be patient with them, getting to know them as people. He found himself manufacturing excuses to seek her out. And then there was the lovemaking. He wanted to call it sex but his heart was beginning to know the truth, even if his head wasn't willing to make that leap yet. There were times when they watched each other while making love, and he could swear that she could see into his soul. And it scared him.

It was a warm, spring-like late afternoon Friday when Claire almost bumped into Lucky and Dante on the steps of the PCPD. They were leaving for the evening and planning to catch up with LuLu for dinner at the Metro Court. "Claire," Lucky said, the pleasure on his face at seeing her evident, "what's up?" She was slightly breathless from hurrying from her car to the station, wanting to catch Mac Scorpio before he left for the evening. "Is Mac still here?" she asked him. Dante looked back at the station doors before replying, "I think he took off a while ago, but his office door is still open, which means he'll probably be coming back. What's going on?" "I got a strange phone call from someone who declined to leave his name telling me that he 'heard' John Zacchara was the reason the Ordoñez Family was making inroads into the Port Charles underground, and that they were planning 'something big'. I know it's just a rumor, but that, coupled with the conversation we had about three months ago…" She trailed off as she realized that Dante had no clue about the entrapment plot against Sonny Corinthos. "What conversation?" Dante asked, almost on cue. Lucky jumped in before Claire could speak with, "I know Johnny is desperate, but I don't see even him getting in bed with the Ordoñez organization, not even to be rid of Sonny. They are a different kind of ruthless." Mac walked up and joined them on the station steps. "What's this?" he asked. "A task force meeting on the front steps?" Claire started filling him in on the phone conversation she'd received that afternoon, watching him nod his head as he took in the information. "Mac," Lucky said, "I just don't see this for John Zacchara. He's not exactly in the same league. It sounds like Claire's anonymous caller was trying to stir up trouble for him." Dante considered for a moment before adding, "Or he could have been trying to deflect attention from someone else. Either way, I'm with Lucky. I've worked with this guy—the Ordoñezes aren't his style." "Grief does strange things to people, twists them in different ways," Mac reminded them. "It might not have been his style, but the way he's going about things now, just to bring Sonny down for his treatment of Claudia—I'm seeing this as a possibility. Look into it." Lucky and Dante were both beginning to speak against the likelihood of John Zacchara being involved with a drug cartel when a loud explosion rocked them all, causing them to duck reflexively. "What the hell was that?" exclaimed Mac. The three men stood as one, looking at the sky as a huge cloud of smoke began filling the air. Claire realized that she was the only one huddled against the banister on the stairs and she too stood quickly, swaying slightly as she was suddenly assailed by dizziness. "It looks like it's coming from Warehouse Row over on Van Nyss," noticed Mac. "We'd better get some units over there. I'll call it in to the Fire Department, make sure they're dispatched. You two go over, too, and check it out." Mac walked into the station, dialing on his cell phone as he went to his office. Dante took off to get his car, but Lucky was momentarily distracted by Claire's reaction to the blast. "Are you ok? You look like you're about to faint," he said to her, taking her elbow in his hand to steady her. "I'm fine. I just got up too fast, and I haven't eaten yet today so I'm a little shaky."

"You've gone the whole day without eating? Why?"

"I've been busy ever since I got that phone call this afternoon. When I get engrossed in something, sometimes I forget to eat. I'm kind of tired, too, and that isn't helping."

"Well, I've got to go check out the cause of this explosion. I think you should stay here with Mac, or go get something to eat. I'll call you when we find out what's going on."

"Not a chance! I want to know, too. I'm going with you."

"Claire, this is a police matter. Let us handle it. You still look a little green. You stay here with Mac, and we'll let you know when we know something solid. Please?"

"Ok," Claire muttered finally, "but I'm not happy about this." Lucky tore down the steps as Dante honked the horn impatiently, tossing behind his shoulder, "And get something to eat out of the vending machine!" He jumped into the car, and the two of them sped off toward the blazing inferno.

Claire sat down on the steps unsteadily, taking a deep breath and blowing it slowly out again. Another round of dizziness, this time accompanied by slight nausea, swamped her. "As soon as this passes," she thought, "I'll head inside and wait with Mac."

To call the fire that Lucky and Dante encountered when they got to Warehouse Row an accident was pointless. The warehouse was engulfed in flames, and the firefighters were having a hard time keeping the blaze at bay, making Lucky think two things—accelerant, and arson. He caught the sleeve of a firefighter passing by. "What happened? Does anyone know?" he asked him. "Two kids riding by on bikes called it in. They said that as soon as they rode past the warehouse, it exploded, knocking them to the ground and scaring them half to death. We don't believe they were involved, though." "Was anyone in there?" wondered Dante. "That remains to be seen but so far, no. Look, guys, I need to get back to it." They thanked him for his time and watched as he made his way to the fire truck. "You know this is one of Sonny's warehouses, don't you?" Dante asked Lucky. "I was kind of hoping it wasn't. We're going to have to talk to him, and I'm not looking forward to that. If this is John Zacchara's doing, I don't think we'll be able to keep Sonny from killing him. If this is the work of the Ordoñez organization…" "If this is the work of the Ordoñez Family, then we have the beginnings of a turf war on our hands. Of course, Sonny could have done this himself." "Well," said Lucky, watching as a black limo pulled up to the scene, "here's our chance to find out." A furious Sonny Corinthos exited the limo and sighting them, stalked over in their direction, wanting answers.

An exhausted Lucky stumbled into his apartment a few hours later, throwing himself onto his couch and almost dozing off before remembering that he owed Claire a phone call. He dialed her number on his cell phone, smiling as she answered before the phone finished ringing once. "Lucky? What happened?" "There's not a lot to tell right now," he replied tiredly. "We talked to the occupants of the surrounding warehouses, but no one really saw anything of value. No casualties, except for one guy who was treated for smoke inhalation, which was a blessing. We couldn't reach John Zacchara, so we plan to go at him in the morning. Sonny himself showed up, breathing fire of his own, and all but swearing vengeance on Johnny. I still think this is a setup—I don't believe John Zacchara had anything to do with this." "Well, who then?" "I'm thinking either Joaquin Sebastian Ordoñez, or his sister Pilar. Of course, I can't discount Sonny, even though it was one of his warehouses. I've gotta tell you, nothing says 'nauseating' like smelling burnt coffee on a grand scale. I'm sure that's not the only thing Sonny lost in the fire, but that's the only thing he's admitting to right now. What time did you leave the PCPD?" "I left at eight thirty, but Mac was still listening to the scanner and making calls. For all I know, he might still be there." "No, he was at home when I called him with an update. Did you finally eat something?" he asked her, still concerned about her reaction on the PCPD steps. "Yes, Daddy, I did," she said, laughter in her voice. "One of these days, I'll have you calling me 'Daddy' in a different tone of voice altogether," he retorted, joining her in laughter. "See you tomorrow?" she queried. "Yeah, but first Dante and I need to see if we can track Zacchara down, see if he has an alibi for the time in question. I'm burnt, no pun intended. I've got to get to sleep." "I'll talk to you tomorrow, then," she answered. "Yes, tomorrow. Good night, baby." They hung up, but Lucky didn't sleep right away after all. That was the first time he'd used an endearment when talking to her. He wondered if she'd noticed. He wondered what it meant that it had slipped out unbidden. This quagmire, also known as his "feelings for Claire" was getting deeper and deeper.

Fear had a new name, and its name was Claire Walsh. She laid in her bed, fighting nausea for the fourth morning in a row, her heart racing wildly. "I'm on the Pill. That has to mean something. It's never failed me in the past. Of course the last time I tested it other than with Lucky was a long time ago. There are a million reasons to be nauseated in the mornings," she thought. "Of course, nausea by itself means nothing, but if you couple that with the fact that I didn't have my last period… Of course even THAT means nothing—I've been under stress with this drug cartel thing and averting potential mob wars and my other cases, and oh, who am I kidding?" When she could no longer hold out, she launched up from the bed, running into the bathroom and falling to her knees, hugging the porcelain bowl, retching violently. She finally got to her feet and looked at herself in the mirror above the sink. "I guess," she said to her reflection, "you'd better make an appointment with Dr. Lee on Monday."

Lucky and Dante caught up with John Zacchara coming out of his penthouse late Saturday morning. "Well, well, well, if it ain't the boys in blue. Port Charles' Not So Finest. I'm doubtin' this is a social call, so what can I do for you 'gentlemen'?" Lucky took the point on the questioning. "Did you hear that one of Sonny Corinthos' warehouses burned to the ground yesterday?" "No, really? That's a shame, a real shame. The cost of doin' business, I guess. Was anyone hurt?" "No one was hurt—one man was treated for smoke inhalation and released. Where were you yesterday evening around five forty-five, six o'clock?" "Is that when it happened?" asked Johnny sarcastically. "Am I a suspect? What am I thinkin'? I'm probably the only suspect you have, because you guys are so thorough, and of course Sonny doesn't have any other enemies besides me." He rolled his eyes in disgust before continuing, "I was in Atlantic City until this morning; I just got back. I had business to 'tend to. Which one was it?" Dante answered this query, since he was more familiar with Sonny's warehouses. "It was one of the main import houses, over on Van Nyss." "No kiddin'? Did you talk to the guards there? That place is always heavily guarded." "We talked to Sonny but so far, we haven't been able to locate any of the guards yet." "Huh. Almost as if somebody paid 'em to disappear before you could talk to any of 'em. Now who would do that, I wonder? Sorry boys, but I can't help you—I wasn't here. Got receipts to prove it. Good luck, though," he finished, smirking at how much of a setback the fire was going to be for the Corinthos organization.

"Well, that was a complete waste of time," Dante said to Lucky in frustration. "No, I wouldn't say complete. We didn't think Johnny was involved, and at least we know that he didn't do it himself if he WAS involved. I don't think he has the manpower to go against Sonny in quite this way. He'd have to outsource personnel, plus pay off Sonny's men to betray him. No, this is looking much more organized." "So you're still thinking Sebastian or Pilar Ordoñez?" "Yeah. We need to see if any of Sonny's men have traveled in the last few hours or gone through Customs. No doubt it's a long shot because I'm sure they'll be using fake passports, but it's what we have for now to go on. We also need to know how long these guys worked with Sonny. They had to be paid a crapload of money to betray him, and it also had to be someone that made them not fear what would happen to them if they were caught, which usually means a bigger fish is in the water." "You've got a point there. We also could see if any of the Ordoñez jets made any trips out of the country in the last twenty-four hours. Lucky, if we're going to tango with these guys, we're going to need more than the PCPD to do it. They're big-time, and they play for keeps." "We'll let that be Mac's call, but I'm thinking at least the FBI, if not Interpol as well, will have to be called in. I want to check out Zacchara's alibi, so I'm gonna dig around on the computer, see what I can find." "These are the times when I wish Spinelli was on our side." "Oh please," laughed Lucky. "I was Spinelli before Spinelli was Spinelli. You'd be surprised what I can do, and have done, with a computer. Remind me to tell you about the WSB and Stefan Cassadine some time. My hacking skills are rusty but trust me, if there's information to be found, I'll be finding it. What are you going to do?" "I'm gonna go beard the lion in his den. I'm going back to Sonny to find out more info on these so-called 'guards' of his. Then I'm taking LuLu to an early lunch to make up for missing dinner at the Metro Court last night." "Ok, and apologize to her for me, too, would you? I suppose I'd better call Claire with an update—maybe we can get some takeout and she can keep me company while I scout around on the computer." Dante's face broke out in a huge smile before he could help himself or quash it. Lucky noticed, and sighed in exasperation. "Are you going to keep grinning like a fool every time I mention her name?" he asked Dante, shaking his head. "Yeah, I think I am," Dante replied, unable to keep the glee out of his voice. "Whatever, man," Lucky finally said, smiling as well. "I'll catch you later."

Flipping through the telephone book, Claire looked for an address to a drugstore outside of Port Charles. She knew she was being ridiculous, but she didn't want to risk anyone who knew her seeing her buying a pregnancy test. She'd made an excuse to Lucky when he called her wondering if she wanted to join him for lunch. For some reason, she wanted to avoid him until she knew for sure one way or the other. What on earth was she going to tell Lucky if she was pregnant? The whole reason they rarely, if ever, used condoms was because she felt safe after never experiencing any near misses. Overconfidence will get you every time. He already had two children, and he wasn't necessarily looking for a third. What about the task force and the war against the Mob? What about her career? And what was her mother going to say? She had to think of the negatives. She had to think about the negatives, because she needed to push down the other feelings that were cropping up against her will. The excitement. The joy. The happiness. She wanted to be a mother. Why deny it? If she was honest with herself, and she was always honest with herself, she wanted a baby. She found a store that was acceptable, and getting into her car, she set out on her trek. When she got to the store, she took a deep breath before entering. "If I am pregnant," she thought, "this is destiny right here. Walking into this store, and finally finding out, is going to change my life." She found the right aisle, and looking at the products available, she made her selection. Then, because she never did anything by halves, she picked up three other brands before walking to the cashier.

Lucky was only moderately concerned when his second message went to voicemail. No doubt Claire was busy working on one of her cases, even if it was the weekend. She would call back whenever she got a chance. He'd missed lunch with her since she had been unavailable and he wanted to talk over with her the information he'd gleaned from his computer search. He hoped she was all right, though. He was remembering the last time he saw her. She'd looked so ill on the steps of the PCPD. His thoughts were interrupted by a shrill voice. "Daddy! Watch!" Cameron was throwing his rubber ball in the air and actually catching it. "Whoa, Cam, that's great! See if you can throw it higher." He absentmindedly pushed a red dump truck toward Jake as he wondered if now was the right time to get Cam involved in t-ball, or some other sport. He had good hand/eye coordination for a six-year-old… His phone rang in the middle of his musings. He looked at the caller's name in relief. "Claire. How are you? I left two messages…" "I had an errand to run. I know I was supposed to meet you at the park today, but I'm not feeling very well. I may or may not have picked up a bug, and I'd hate to pass anything on to the kids, so I thought I'd better stay home and rest." "No, that sounds like a good idea. We'll talk later—I just wanted to make sure you were ok. Do you need me to bring you anything?" "I don't think so, Lucky. I'll have a bit of soup and hunker down with my favorite blanket and get some sleep. It might be a tummy bug or something that will pass shortly, but whatever it is, I'm sure I'll be all right." "Well, the boys missed you today. So did I. You take care of yourself, and maybe I'll check in with you later on, ok?" "Give them a hug and a kiss from me. I missed you all, too. I'll talk to you tomorrow." He hung up the phone thoughtfully. "I won't invade her privacy, but I wonder if she's understating how sick she really is. Hmm. I'll call her again tomorrow, and if she doesn't seem to be any better, I'll insist that she go to General Hospital and get checked out." Satisfied with this solution, he rose to his feet and challenged his sons to a game of three-way catch.

Closing down her laptop and locking her office for the evening, Claire realized that she'd never had a more wonderfully productive Monday in her life. She was headed to the PCPD for another task force meeting, this one specifically geared to share information gathered concerning the burning down of Sonny Corinthos' warehouse. Mac was supposed to sit in on this meeting because a determination had to be made if the FBI or some other agency needed to be called in to assist. She arrived early to the meeting, and no one else was in the conference room when she snagged a donut and some coffee, thought better of the coffee and dumped it out, getting water instead. Her mind was still reeling from her appointment with Dr. Lee earlier that morning. When she called to make the appointment, Dr. Lee had said, "Actually, I had a cancellation this morning, so if you want to come on in, I can see you now instead of waiting, if you'd like." So she'd gone to General Hospital to see Dr. Lee. She explained how on Sunday, she'd gotten four positives on four pregnancy tests, but she wanted to BE SURE. Dr. Lee ordered blood to be drawn, and she had waited for a couple of slightly stressful hours because the lab was backed up before being given confirmation. She was indeed pregnant. Or as Dr. Lee had put it, "About seven weeks in." Come to think of it, she should have known—the tiredness, the sore breasts, and now, the nausea, which had become a constant—all those clues laid out before her. But she had been engrossed in her work, and not paying attention to her body, or her health, really. That must be how she'd missed taking the Pill, or more likely, not taking it at the right time of the day. And now, wow. Her own little miracle, growing by the day inside her. She closed her eyes, smiling hugely, rocking gently back and forth. Lucky came to the doorway of the room, and stopped short, his eyes falling on her. She looked incredibly pleased with herself about something, and he wondered what it was. Probably some nugget of information she'd ferreted out that she couldn't wait to share with the rest of them. She definitely looked better—whatever sickness she'd had over the weekend seemed to have passed. "What do you know," he began asking, fully entering the room, "that has you so pleased with yourself?" She was startled, and she gave a little jump, her hand automatically going to her abdomen. "Ooh, you scared me. I didn't know anyone was there."

"I was just watching you. Can you tell me, or do you want to wait for everyone else to share your big news?"

"Oh, I think I can tell you. Today was a good day for me. I found a friend of a former employee of the Ordoñez Family who says that her friend might be willing to talk to us in exchange for immunity and protection, so I'm working on that. One of my other cases is going to settle out of court, which turns out to be a win for me, I'm pregnant, oh, and did you know that Jake's has started serving curly fries?"

"I wonder," he responded, "who this 'friend' is, and how helpful they can be to us—what did you say?"

"Which part?"

"Did I just hear you say that you were pregnant, or did I mishear you somehow?"

"No," she said, looking apprehensive for the first time, "you heard me right."

"How did this happen? Well, I mean, I know how it happened, but how on earth did it happen? You're on the Pill. You're still on the Pill, aren't you?"

"Well I was until this morning, but Dr. Lee said that sometimes if you don't take it at the same time daily, or if you miss one…"

"And that's what happened? You missed one?"

"No, I probably was off on the timing. We have been keeping some crazy hours lately with this task force, and I know there were a few days when I overslept, so I was late taking it. Are you angry? You're angry, aren't you? I was so happy that I didn't take into account that you might not be. Look, you don't have to do a thing-"

Lucky stopped her in mid-sentence. "Wait a minute. I'm not angry, I'm shocked. I'm stunned. I'm sure my reaction will change once the feeling comes back into my legs. How are you? Are you ok? Is this why you were sick over the weekend?"

"Yes, I think so. I took a pregnancy test on Sunday to be sure. Well, I took four to be exact, but then this morning I saw Dr. Lee to be sure. I'm seven weeks along."

"My God. You're pregnant. You're **pregnant**. You're going to have my child."

"In about seven and a half months or so, yes." Lucky approached her chair and got down on one knee, gazing up into her face. "You're really happy about this?" "Yes, I am." "My child is growing in here?" he asked, touching her stomach. "Yes, he or she is." His eyes filled with tears as he looked momentarily toward the ceiling, then back at her. "Wow. I can't believe… Are you really ok with this?" "I couldn't be happier, Lucky. I really couldn't." He reached around her waist, hugging her, laying his head on her breasts, sighing gently. She waited for a minute before saying, "Tell me how you feel. What are you thinking?" "I'm thinking," he said, drawing back and looking into her eyes, "that this is fantastic. That it's phenomenal. That it's awesome. That I'm still stunned as hell, but that it's going to be wonderful." He reached up slightly as she leaned down, and they shared what started out as a little kiss that grew when he held her tighter and their tongues began mating together. They were startled apart by a brusque "Hey, this is a joint task force meeting, not a porn peep show. Leave that stuff at home." They looked up to find a disgruntled Mac looking down at them with his arms crossed, and Dante and Ronnie trying valiantly not to laugh aloud at the reprimand. Lucky gave Claire one more quick peck before taking a seat across from her at the table. About five minutes and a million shared glances later, he realized that neither one of them was going to be any good at this meeting.

"Ok," Dante said to Lucky, cornering him outside after the meeting ended. "You and the Dragon Lady of Justice were more than useless tonight—positively sphinx-like. What's the deal?" Lucky laughed aloud at the image, smiling widely as he looked up at the stars before returning Dante's hard stare. "Do me a favor. Call her Claire, ok? I don't think I can tell you yet. Let me check with her first." "Oh man, are you whipped, or what? You have to check in with your girlfriend before you can talk to your partner?" For once, Lucky didn't correct Dante on his usage of the term, something Dante filed away as "Food For Thought." "Trust me, I want to tell you. I'm dying to tell you, but I'd better not until I talk to her first. Tell you what. Why don't we plan for dinner tomorrow night at my place? You tell LuLu, I'll call Ethan, he can bring Maya, and we can make a night of it."

"So this is what you look like happy. Sounds like a plan."

"Oh, you're too humorous for my own good," Lucky retorted without heat. Claire walked up to them, noticing the shared laughter. "What's so funny, guys?" she wanted to know. "Nothing really," responded Lucky. "Dante is just showing how witty he can be, as usual. We were talking about having a small dinner party tomorrow night at the apartment," he added, unknowingly throwing her a pleading look. "Ok," she said slowly, realizing why this was important to him. "I guess that's doable."

"Great. So we can expect you and LuLu around seven-thirtyish? Bring your own booze if you want it, because I don't have any in the house. I'll remind Ethan to do the same." "Look forward to it," Dante said, walking to his car. He'd hadn't seen Lucky this, well, **giddy** in a long time, and he couldn't wait to find out the cause of it. Lucky turned to Claire, holding out his hand to her. "We should go. I want to get you off your feet. And I also want you to come home with me. Will you do that?" "Yes, I'll come home with you, but you're not going to start being fussy so early, are you? I'm only just pregnant, so the time to be fussy is a ways off. I still have a job to do, cases to try. I'm pregnant, not incapacitated." "We'll talk about it later," Lucky murmured. "For now, let's go home."

"I can't believe it. I still can't believe it." Lucky and Claire were sitting on his couch, snuggling as they began talking for the first time about their shared future. Deep down, down where no one could see, in a place he would never admit existed, Lucky was excited at the thought that this child would be his blood. His biological child. No one and nothing would change his love for Cameron and Jacob, but this child, this boy or girl, would share his DNA. What a wondrous thing. "Well, you'd better believe it, buddy. I'm sure not having any problems believing. I think one of these mornings, I'm going to lose an organ to the horrible morning sickness."

"Are you sure the crackers and pretzels are going to be enough to keep it at bay?"

"You said you have ginger ale in your 'fridge, right? According to Dr. Lee, that and the crackers should help tremendously. We'll just have to see. About this dinner party tomorrow night. You're ready to tell your brother and sister about this so soon?"

"Are you kidding? I'm ready to shout it from the rooftop, that's how excited I am about this baby. If you don't want to tell them, then I won't, but I want them to share this with us."

"And if something goes wrong?"

"Then they'll share in that too, and be there to support both of us. I really want them to know, Claire. And I still need to tell my dad whenever he checks in. And I'll call my mom in the morning. What did your mother say?"

"I haven't told her yet. I needed to figure out a way to tell you first. She knows how much I've been longing for a child, so she'll be ecstatic. I hope you know I didn't do this on purpose."

"Yes, I was wondering. Ouch!" he yelled after she punched his arm. "I know you didn't do this purposefully, but I don't like the concept of 'an accident'. I think we should tell this child that he or she was planned for."

"No, I think we should tell the truth. You told me what happened with your family behind keeping secrets. How about 'happy accident' or 'unexpected blessing'?"

"I like both of those. Either will work for me. Hmm. I'm going to have to move again," he mused aloud. "Move again? Why?" she wondered. "The room I have now for Cam and Jake is small. I have absolutely no room for a crib or a nursery of any kind. And since I'm hoping that we plan to raise this child together, eventually I'll want you to move in with me. I won't live in my mother's house—there are too many ghosts there—but something else suitable like it will be perfect." "Wow," she said, amazed. "When you plan, you go all out, don't you? Don't we have plenty of time before making these kinds of decisions?" "Hah. You'll be surprised at how quickly the time passes. Before you can blink, this child will be here. We definitely don't want to be deciding where to live after he or she is born. Having a newborn in the house is hectic enough without the stress of not having a plan in place. No, we're going to do this right." She looked at him, smiling. "You're kind of cute when you get all commanding. Kind of turns me on."

"I thought you were tired."

"I can be persuaded, with the right enticements."

"I've definitely got the right enticements for you. I'm going to take you from zero to screaming my name out loud tonight."


	5. Chapter 5

Lucky rose from the couch and walked over to the stereo. After briefly scanning his music collection, he placed his selection into the CD player and suddenly, a sultry saxophone ballad filled the air. He turned back to Claire, who sat watching him. He cocked his head, a slight smile on his face as he held out his hand to her. "Will you dance with me?" She got up and took his hand, and taking her into his arms, they began to dance. Claire sighed and laid her head on Lucky's shoulder as they continued swaying to the music. He cuddled her closer and closing his eyes, he leaned his head against hers. After a few minutes of slow rocking, she felt secure enough to tease, "I thought you were going to make me scream your name tonight?"

"Oh, we'll get to that, don't worry, but I'm in a celebratory mood. I'd rather seduce you than nail you. I want to take my time with you tonight."

"I have to admit, I'm loving being in your arms right now."

"I'm loving holding you. Both of you." He lifted his head and she looked up at him, a serene smile lighting her face. He held her chin with his thumb and forefinger, gazing deeply into her soft brown eyes. "Is it possible that you are more beautiful than ever? Is it the thought of my child growing inside you that's giving you this glow?"

"I think it's just your eyes, seeing what they want to see."

"No, I don't think that's it. I see you very clearly—nothing is clouding my vision where you're concerned." Lucky leaned forward slowly, holding her gaze with his before kissing her softly on the lips. He brushed his tongue against the seam of her mouth, causing her to open just enough for him to gain entrance. They fed on each other's mouths leisurely,deliberately, still gently moving to the seductive jazz. His hand coasted from her chin up through her hair, cradling her head as the kiss intensified. In an instant, what had begun as a gentle embrace was gaining momentum and sliding out of control. He sucked her tongue into his mouth, groaning softly as he felt his body responding to her nearness. Claire broke the kiss abruptly, tilting her head back to look into his aroused eyes before allowing her head to fall once again to his shoulder. "Mmm. You're making me dizzy," she said to him. He drew back almost immediately. "What's wrong? Do you need to sit down?"

"Lucky, I'm fine. I'm dizzy because you know how to kiss, not because I'm pregnant." She shook her head at him.

"You're laughing at me. That's not very nice. The kid gloves are coming off, at least for tonight. No mercy." He began sucking and licking her neck.

"You're not going to mark me, are you? Not where everyone can see it?"

"You sure you want to give me that kind of ammo? I should, as payback for you laughing at me, but your skin is so delicate and I don't want to mar it. I'm still feeling this primal urge to brand you somehow, though. As if to show the world that you're mine."

"Am I yours?"

"Oh yeah, you are. Don't doubt it for a second." He unbuttoned her blouse and removed it, staring at her slightly heaving breasts. "Here," he said, choosing a spot right above her left breast, "here where only you and I will see and know." He bathed her skin with his tongue in preparation before fastening on, suckling strongly. Her knees buckled suddenly and he gathered her closer, increasing the pressure his mouth was exerting. She felt her body readying for him, a fresh rush further lubricating her already soaked channel. He finally released her flesh, admiring his handiwork. "Yes," he said, "that's perfect."

By now, neither one of them was paying attention to the music. Lucky slid his fingers down into the cup of her bra, gently lifting her breast free, latching on to her tightly beaded nipple. He continued suckling as he reached behind her, releasing her bra clasp and letting the bra fall to the floor. He bent his head to the other mound, his lips dropping moist caress onto it as well. She watched him dreamily as his eyes roamed her body. They regarded one another intensely as he slowly unhooked her slacks, easing them down her legs. Lucky took the slacks and blouse and laid them across the back of the couch before turning back to her. A wide grin broke out on his face as he realized she was wearing a red garter belt and sheer nylons with red lace panties. "I'm starting to think you wear that just to drive me crazy." "If I did, I'd be a fool to admit it." He approached her and lowered himself to his knees, unhooking the garter and sliding her nylons, one at a time, down and off. Next went the garter belt itself, leaving her clad only in scanty red lace. He inspected her abdomen as he rested his hands on her waist. "I can see a bit of a bump here. It's very slight, though. Gorgeous."

"We'll see what you're saying when I'm bigger than a beach ball."

He started dropping kisses on her belly, moving lazily from side to side. "I'll be saying the same thing, trust me. I can't wait to see that." His hands slipped below the waistband of her panties and he inched then down, measure by measure, scenting her as he went. When she was naked, she waited for him to look up at her, asking, "Now what?" "Now you undress me," he replied as he stood up. She reached for the hem of his T-shirt, gathering it in her hands before lifting it over his head. She leaned into his bare chest, inhaling him, feeling her head cloud further as her senses registered his cologne. Claire rubbed her face slowly back and forth against his skin, finally stroking his nipple with her tongue. His breath drew in sharply, his heart pounding harder. She slid her hands down his torso, down to his belt buckle, laughing as she encountered the buttons on his jeans. "Of course they're button fly."

"Let me show you a little trick." In one motion with a flick of his thumb and forefinger, all five buttons released at once. "Very effective," she noted. She tugged his jeans down his legs and off before pausing. "I'm not as fastidious as you are. Just throw them on the chair—I'll get them later. She tossed the jeans on the lounge chair as her eyes drifted over his body, the impressive bulge in his boxer briefs capturing her attention. She bent forward slightly, gripping the waistband of his briefs and shifting it out of her way. She brushed several kisses over his hipbone before sucking his skin. He gasped and groaned while he tried to remain still. "I think one good marking deserves another," she said, watching with satisfaction as the blotch she left behind began to darken. Lucky almost reached for her before remembering that his plan was seduction, not ravishment. Claire finished removing his briefs and he took her once again into his arms, beginning the dance anew. He appreciated the softness of her skin as he held her; she reached down and cradled his erection against her belly. They continued swaying together, allowing the music, their closeness, their senses, their nakedness to lure them deeper into desire. His lips caressed her neck and shoulders unhurriedly, his hot mouth and wet tongue making their presence felt wherever they landed. She brushed his prick against her stomach, painting the essence dripping from him into her skin. At this, he took her mouth again—he couldn't resist. He held her head in his hands as his tongue thrust over and over against hers. They feasted on one another, savoring the freedom of being able to express their feelings in such a physical way. Their hands wandered delightedly, arousing further, marveling at the contrasts—hard and soft, hairy and smooth, strong and delicate. He moved back from her, taking in the beauty of her body, noting the trail of semen he left on her belly, the marks on her breasts, neck and shoulders that his hungry lips, hands and teeth left behind. "Come to bed with me," he said abruptly. "I have to taste you. I'm dying to taste you. I'm aching to be inside you. I don't know if I've ever wanted anything or anyone as much as I want you right now, this minute."

"Take me then. I need you. Can't you tell how badly I want to feel you inside me? Make me feel every inch of you. Let's drive each other crazy tonight."

They hugged their way into the bedroom, him walking her backwards until the backs of her knees hit the bed. She sat down, scooting back onto the mattress as he followed, leaning over her body as he went. She stopped when she was fully on the bed, and looked up at him. The expression on his face was so full of lust that she gasped out loud. "You know what I want. Don't make me ask." She spread her legs and he fell on her like a desperate, starving man. He took in everything at once—her quivering thighs and stomach, her aroused scent, her drenched muff. The first slow pass of his tongue on her intimate flesh almost sent her rocketing off the bed but he grabbed her quickly, forcing her back down. "Be still."

"Not likely."

"Well, try. I'm far from finished with you." She clutched one of the bed pillows for support, moaning softly into it while he continued his gorging. "Umm," he said as her flavor melted on his tongue and lips. "You're tangy and kind of sweet at the same time. How do you manage that?" "I don't know," she cried out as his words vibrated against her flesh, her body tensing. "Ohh, God! Aaahhh," she screamed when he shoved his tongue high inside her flooding channel.

"That's good. I like that. But that's not my name," he said teasingly.

"You'd better watch it. I might not ever say it, just to spite you," she retorted, raising her head to look at him. She almost came when she saw how her wetness had coated his mouth and face.

"Now of the two of us, who do you honestly see winning this fight? Before we're done here, I will hear my name on your lips. If it takes all night, so be it." With that said, he bent to her again, sucking her clit strongly but gently into his mouth, rubbing his tongue purposefully against it. She tried to close her legs to stop the onslaught, to escape his ravaging mouth, but he wouldn't allow it, and he intensified his assault. "You win! Ahhh! Oh, Goddd, Lucky, you win! Ohhhh!" She came fiercely, further drenching him as he attempted to lick up every drop she spilled. She was still coming down from her orgasm when he rolled her to her side, moving swiftly up her body, lifting her leg and forcing his way slickly inside with no real warning. "Whoa, Lucky," she cried out, slapping her hands against his chest, halting him. "Wait! Just hang on a minute." She coughed twice as if to clear an obstruction. "What's wrong? What's the matter?" he asked her, concern in his voice. She squirmed as his fullness inside her continued to register. "It feels like I can feel you in my throat. No, seriously," she insisted as he looked at her in disbelief. "Wow. You just seem like 'more' than usual." "We did stretch this out so I might be more aroused than usual. I guess that could make me feel bigger. Do you want me to stop?" "No, just—oh, gosh, ooh. Go easy." "How about this?" He reached under her, pulling her into his body as he rocked very, very deliberately in and out of her. He began to ask, "Is that bet-" but she interrupted him screaming, "Oh God! Ohh yesss! Right there! Lucky, right there! Please! Aaaahhh! Don't stop—that feels so good!" He increased his thrusting by degrees, clutching her even tighter. She bit down hard on his chest, moaning gutturally, her arm around his neck grasping so inflexibly that she was almost choking him. Her climax washed over her, causing her inner walls to pulsate, constricting him repeatedly in a vice-like grip. He was powerless to hold off any longer and he peaked strongly, surrendering, the pleasure her body rendered swamping him. Lucky hissed aloud, then grunted as Claire's vaginal muscles continued milking him unconsciously. Finally, they were able to ease away from one another, both breathing roughly. "Are you ok?" Lucky breathlessly inquired. The only answer Claire could give was a hoarse whimper. "Baby. Hey, look at me. You all right?"

"Yes. Oh my God, yes. Oh, Lucky, wow. I'm fine. Exhausted, but fine. Don't worry so. My throat hurts, though."

A bark of laughter escaped before he could stop it. "You'll feel better in the morning, at least until the morning sickness sets in." He got up from the bed and pulled the covers back, tucking her securely in after she crawled under the sheets and blankets. She gazed up at him, a look of absolute joy crossing her face. "God I love you," he said to her unthinkingly. They both froze when he realized he'd spoken aloud. "You don't have to say anything back, but I had to let you know how I feel. How I've been feeling for a while now." "Ok," she said. He started to leave the room and she panicked. "Where are you going?" She thought she'd upset him when she didn't return his declaration. "To get the ginger ale and crackers. I want to have them ready, just in case." He fumbled around in the kitchen before returning, sitting the morning sickness remedies on the nightstand by her side of the bed then going into the bathroom to wash his face. He finally crawled into the bed behind her, reaching for her, snuggling her close to his heart. They both lay still, drifting euphorically on a sea of bliss. Minutes later, Claire thought he had finally dropped off to sleep as she listened to Lucky's deep, even breathing. "I love you too, Lucky," she whispered eventually, "so much it frightens me." She gradually fell into a sated, restful slumber, snoring softly. Lucky smiled to himself. He hadn't fallen asleep after all, and he had heard every word.


	6. Chapter 6

The conversation around Lucky's dining table the next evening was lively, the red wine was plentiful, and the food was delicious. Music from a local radio station was the perfect background foil for the evening, and everyone was having a good time. Initially, Maya had been a bit stiff but after the first glass of wine, even she was loosening up and enjoying herself. The evening's chatter ran from childhood injuries to "first day on the job" blues, and laughter and hilarity were a constant presence at the table. Bruce Springsteen's rendition of the song "Pink Cadillac" came on the radio, and Lucky paused, listening. "Oh, man," he said, remembering. "That sure brings back memories." "Of what?" asked Dante. "When my parents arrived back in Port Charles, they came in a pink Cadillac. I'd almost forgotten about that." "You're kidding, right?" Claire inquired. "No, really. My parents were the epitome of cool back then. LuLu hadn't even been born yet when we got that car. We had been on the run from Frank Smith's organization, and a little bit of trouble found us where we were living in Canada. We got separated. I got here first, and Mom and Dad eventually made it. We were determined to make a home here. Dad finally dealt with the problem when he took care of Smith. And then we were safe, and we began making Port Charles our home again. LuLu, do you remember that car?"

"It's a vague memory. I know I've seen pictures of it. You know, there are times when I envy your childhood with Mom and Dad. It was so different from my experience with them."

Lucky nodded, understanding perfectly. "You unintentionally got shafted in that respect. Mom got sick—so many negative things suddenly happened to us as a family, and you ended up paying the most, I think. I know they both regret that to this day. But it's appropriate that this discussion should turn to talk of family; it's kind of the reason I asked you all to be here tonight. This year, for me, started out horribly. I found out about Nikolas and Elizabeth, and I was rocked to the ground by their betrayal. I sort of briefly spun out of control because of it. LuLu, you were there for me. You were concerned for me, furious with me for breaking my sobriety and furious on my behalf and taking my side against Nikolas. I wanted to make sure you knew how much I appreciated that, how much I love you for that." "Ethan," he went on, "I was a bastard to you when you first came to town. No, don't try to deny it," he said as Ethan began to protest. "You know I was. You had no reason to reach out to me, and yet you did. Whether it was listening to my woes or offering to be my designated driver, you made yourself available. You never judged me, just supported me. If I neglected to say 'thank you' for that, I want you to know that I am grateful. I lost a brother, but I gained a true one, and I love you for that, too. If there's one thing I learned over this year, it's that family is a fluid thing. Sometimes it's an accident of genetics, and sometimes it's a choice. Maya, you're new to the table, but you're a Ward, and your great-grandmother was like family to me. The Wards and the Spencers go way back. Dante, you love my sister, and she's obviously crazy for you. It's also obvious that you two have a future together, whether you've actually talked about it or not. And you're my partner—that's a bond of a different kind." His eyes began tearing up as he paused to collect his thoughts.

"I felt shattered when I found out about my brother, who was also my best friend, and my fiancée. I honestly didn't know how I was putting one foot in front of the other. And into my hell**,** Claire came. And slowly but surely, she and I began building something good, something pure and genuine. And we just found out that in a few months' time, she and I are going to be parents."

The instant feeling of shock and inanimation around the table was palpable. Ethan and LuLu finally began speaking at the same time; "You mean she's…" "Claire's **pregnant**?" "Yeah," Lucky said proudly while Claire stared at her dinner plate, blushing furiously. "Another addition to the Spencer clan is on the way. We're gonna need your support, especially Claire, who has no family here. I'm hoping you will rally around her, and give her the same support and love you give me."

Dante laughed, shaking his head. "No wonder you two were acting so weird last night! This is awesome news, man!" He held his hand out to Claire, who took it gratefully. "Congrats." "Thank you," she said shyly. "We're pretty excited about it." Maya added her congratulations, saying, "You're going to be great parents." "Good on you, big brother! Claire, welcome to the family," said Ethan, a huge grin on his face. LuLu danced around the table, first giving Lucky a loud kiss on the cheek and then making her way to Claire, giving her a hug and whispering in her ear, "You've brought joy back to my brother, and made him smile again. Thank you." Claire was overwhelmed by the good wishes being extended to her and she exchanged glances with a smiling Lucky, who winked at her. "I told you," he said knowingly, "that telling them would be a good idea. The Spencers know how to rally when necessary." "Yes," she said, nodding. "You were right."

Stomachs were full, leftovers parceled out—Dante and Ethan taking the lion's share—and purses and jackets were being gathered up. The evening had come to a close. Lucky helped LuLu into her jacket after pulling her to the side. He quietly explained, "I wanted to talk to you privately for a minute." LuLu turned and launched herself into his arms, hugging him tightly. "I'm so happy for you, Lucky. I think Claire has been good for you! And you're making me an aunt again—that's so cool!" "Thanks, LuLu, your love and support have always meant a lot to me. That's why I wanted to speak to you. I appreciate the way you've taken my side over Nikolas'. I may not know him or recognize him any more, but one thing I am sure of—he loves you, and more importantly, you love him. Just because I've lost a brother doesn't mean you should. I want you to go to him, make things right. You are an aunt to his children, too. I don't want you to miss out on that because of me." LuLu gazed at Lucky with a look of awe on her face. "You are so amazing. You're such a good brother." "I don't know how good I am, but I do know that this rift with Nikolas has caused you a lot of pain. I don't want that for you—not on my account." Lucky gave LuLu another hug before walking her to the door where everyone was waiting. He slid his arm around Claire, giving her a brief squeeze. "Thanks for coming, you guys. It means a lot to the both of us." Ethan said, "Thanks for the invite, mate. We should do this again sometime." "Definitely," Maya added. "I'll see you at the station tomorrow," said Dante. And with that they were gone, leaving Lucky and Claire alone. They smiled at each other, the joy and goodwill they'd received from the night still resonating within them. "Why don't you go ahead and go to bed? I'll finish in the kitchen and then join you." "Lucky, you're doing it again. I'm not a China doll, ok? We'll both tackle the kitchen, and then we can both go to bed."

"So what did you think?" Lucky asked later as they lay in each other's arms. "About tonight? I was apprehensive at first, but it certainly went well. Your brother Ethan is hilarious, and I can't believe how gracious LuLu was to me." "Well, she knows you make me happy, and that makes her happy." He held her a little tighter, brushing a light kiss on her forehead and laughing as she yawned hugely. "You need to go to sleep, Mom," he said teasing her. "You and my kid need your rest." "Mmm. Sounds like a good plan," she said sleepily, burrowing into him. "Sleep well, sweetie. Oh, and by the way—I heard you last night. I'm glad you love me, too." Claire's brown eyes flew open in disbelief. She was suddenly wide-awake.

"How do you want to handle this?" Lucky asked Dante as they sat outside the gates of the Ordoñez compound. The high ornate wrought-iron fence only hinted at the opulence inside. "I say we try a 'welcome to the neighborhood' 'getting to know you' approach, and go from there. I just want to get a feel for this guy, if that's feasible." "Well, get your game face on," Lucky said as the security camera swiveled in their direction after he pressed the buzzer to the front gate. "How may I assist you?" they were asked by a cultured voice. "Detectives Spencer and Falconeri of the Port Charles Police Department, here to see Sebastian Ordoñez if that's possible." Lucky flashed his badge in front of the camera lens.

"You gentlemen do not have an appointment. One moment, please."

"You know what's weird?" asked Dante. "I don't see anyone, but I'll bet you any money we're being watched, and not just by security cameras. The guards are conspicuously absent, but all the same, I feel their eyes on us."

"I'm not gonna take that bet, because I think you're right."

The intercom crackled to life. "Señor Ordoñez will see you. Please enter and follow the main drive to the cul-de-sac in front of the main house." With that, the gates began swinging open. Lucky drove forward, saying, "This is just a fact finding mission at this stage. We don't know what, if anything, these people might be guilty of." Dante joked, "Living like this? They're definitely guilty of something." Eventually Lucky parked his Camaro in the circular drive, and he and Dante got out, looking at the manicured lawns and gardens. "I thought the Quartermaines' home was laid out, but their place is a hovel compared to this." They walked up the front steps but before they could ring the doorbell, the front door swung open. "Gentlemen. Señor Ordoñez has asked me to show you into his study. Please follow me." Lucky kept his face impassive as the manservant led them from the foyer down a long corridor to the study. He couldn't imagine living in such palatial surroundings, he thought to himself as he took in the black and white marble floors, the fountain in the middle of the huge foyer, the paintings and object d'art that decorated the walls. Finally, they arrived at their destination, and they were ushered into the study.

"Thank you, Manuel. Gentlemen. Detectives. Welcome to my home," Sebastian Ordoñez walked toward them, extending his hand. After the initial greetings were over, both Lucky and Dante reached for their badges, but they were waved aside. "There is no need for this, Detective Spencer, Detective Falconeri," he said, accurately inclining his head slightly toward Lucky first, and then to Dante. "Please, be seated." He gestured to four chairs that were arranged in a circle. "Will you take tea? Or coffee perhaps? I can assure you I have the finest blends of both available." "Coffee sounds good. Thank you. Black, two sugars," said Lucky. Dante added, "I'll just have water, if that's ok." Ordoñez gave him a faint smile as he asked, "Sparkling? Mineral? Purified?" "Any one of those would be fine. Thank you." Ordoñez looked past them to the manservant, Manuel, who nodded, and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

"Manuel will see to your desires. In the meantime, how might I be of assistance to the Port Charles Police Department?" He walked back to his desk and sat down, an aura of power and elegance surrounding him. "It's funny," Lucky thought to himself, "he doesn't look like a kingpin or a drug trafficker. He looks like a male model." He took in the high forehead; the long black wavy hair pulled neatly back into a ponytail, the golden-brown eyes that, if he wasn't mistaken, were regarding them both mockingly. Aloud, Lucky said, "We understand that you've recently acquired a couple of warehouses down on Van Nyss Street. There was some trouble down there recently, and we've been speaking to all the property owners, gathering information."

"Ah. You are referring, of course, to the firebombing of a warehouse belonging to Señor Corinthos. I was made aware of this occurrence. Nasty business. I have no specific information to assist you, however, in your investigation."

"Are you acquainted with Sonny Corinthos?" asked Dante.

"I have knowledge of him only—we are not acquainted. I understand he is a person of no small influence in Port Charles." The study door opened, and Manuel entered, pushing a gold tea cart. "Please give the water to Detective Falconeri. The coffee is for Detective Spencer. Gentlemen, there are tea cakes and scones as well, if you wish them. Thank you, Manuel." Manuel disappeared as silently from the room as he had entered. Lucky took a sip of the coffee before sitting the cup and saucer on the marble coffee table.

He was about to resume the conversation when the study door opened once again, and Pilar Ordoñez swept into the room. Lucky and Dante immediately rose to their feet, both trying without success to hide appreciative stares. She was a presence—that was the only way to describe her. She was easily as tall as her brother was, six feet if she was an inch. The same cat-like brownish-gold eyes in a full-lipped, heart-shaped face. Her long unbound wavy black hair hung halfway down her back. She was a well-built, captivating woman, and Lucky and Dante weren't entirely immune to her allure. "Bas," she said to her brother playfully, "you did not inform me that we had visitors. Such handsome ones, as well."

"My apologies. Detectives, my sister Pilar Ordoñez. Pilar, Detective Lucas Lorenzo Spencer and Detective Dante Angelo Falconeri, of the Port Charles Police Department. Detective Falconeri is the son of local businessman Michael Corinthos Jr."

"I am very pleased to make your acquaintance, Detectives." She flashed her million-dollar smile at them. "Please, retake your seats. May I join you?"

"Of course, Pilar. Please do. We were speaking of the warehouse fire on Van Nyss Street before you entered the study."

"And of Sonny Corinthos," reminded Lucky as he and Dante resumed their seats. "Señor Ordoñez, why do I get the impression that you already knew who Dante and I were before we arrived today?"

Sebastian leaned back in his chair, his hands folded as he looked at the detectives in contemplation. "Whenever we relocate our family, our business interests into a new city, we make it a point to become aware of the citizens of prominence and influence. One never knows when such information may be of value."

"But we are neither prominent nor influential," Dante said, leaning forward in his chair.

"You are members of the local constabulary, are you not? Part of the shield that stands between law-abiding citizens and the evil forces that commit mayhem such as firebombing warehouses and trafficking in narcotics. It is always wise to be aware of men like yourselves."

"You stated that you have knowledge of Sonny Corinthos. Are you also aware of John Zacchara?" Lucky asked. "Is he an integral component of your investigation?" queried Pilar, looking intently at Lucky. "We're just trying to cover all the bases. There is a history of bad blood between Corinthos and Zacchara, which makes him a 'person of interest'," replied Lucky. "And therefore," said Sebastian, "any association we might have with Señor Zacchara would also be of interest to you. We do not know him, but we know of him. It is rumored, if one listens to such things, that John Zacchara was the heir apparent to business holdings once held by his father, Anthony. Ah, now there is an unfortunate account of a man who, like Icarus, flew too closely to the sun, permanently singeing his wings. A cautionary tale to all of what can occur when one becomes unwise in matters of business. We understand that all Zacchara holdings are currently in the hands of Señor Corinthos."

"Have you ever had occasion to do business with Sonny Corinthos or the Zaccharas?" Dante inquired.

"I beg your pardon? I am under the impression that you consider John Zacchara, at least, to be capable of criminal activity, as he is a 'person of interest' in your investigation. Do you mean to tar us with the same brush?"

"No offense meant," Dante backpedaled. "It's just that you are an importer/exporter, as are Corinthos and Zacchara."

"Yes, I take your meaning, but these men and we do not operate within the same—'network'—shall we say. We do not work **with **such men; such men would work **for** us. Regarding business matters, it is vital to us that our employees have a clear understanding of the delegation of power and authority. In this way, there are no misunderstandings, no occasions for disloyality. Such understandings are necessary."

"In the import/export business," stated Dante.

"As you say, Detective Falconeri. Gentlemen, I fear that the limited time I had has expired, and I have other business matters to which I must attend." Like magic, the study door opened, and Manuel once again entered the room. Sebastian rose to his feet. "Manuel will escort you to the door. It was very—enlightening—to make your acquaintence. Good day, Detectives."

"I echo the sentiments of my brother," Pilar said, flashing Lucky and Dante a feline smile.

"Thank you for your time, and for your hospitality," said Lucky. As they followed Manuel to the foyer, Lucky began to speak but Dante stopped him, shaking his head imperceptibly. They climbed back into the car, making their way slowly down the long drive. Again, Lucky began to speak, and again Dante stopped him, making a silencing motion with his hand. Without another word spoken between them, they made their way back to the PCPD.

When they arrived at the station, Mac, Ronnie and Claire were talking in Mac's office. They all walked into the conference room, and closed the door. "First impressions?" demanded Mac. Lucky and Dante looked at one another. "Is it safe for me to speak now?" Lucky asked Dante teasingly. "Listen," Dante replied. "This guy and his sister were as slick as spit. A veneer of polish and sophistication covering an undeniable ruthlessness. We were inside long enough for him to have his people bug your car, even with the alarm system activated."

"Paranoid much?" countered Lucky.

"Ok. Here's the thing. Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean you aren't being watched. You can't deny that he knew who we were before we even got there. How long has he had that information? Why would he need it? Why did he make it a point of letting us know that he knew who we were, right down to the fact that Sonny is my father? The whole thing felt like a cat and mouse game, and we definitely weren't the cats."

"You have a point. You really think he might have bugged the car, though?"

"Lucky, there is a reason men like him are able to stay several steps in front of law enforcement. Knowledge, information, is power. I've worked with similar men while undercover. I'm not saying the car is bugged, I'm saying it wouldn't surprise me if it was. Don't be fooled by the charm." "Charm, huh?" Mac interrupted. "So basically, we're dealing with another Sonny Corinthos." "Mac," responded Dante, "all I'm gonna say about that is that we'd better hope to God that these people aren't involved in what happened to Sonny's warehouse. Sonny is a Girl Guide compared to Sebastian and Pilar Ordoñez. If their intention is to make Port Charles a stronghold, they'll not only edge Sonny out of the picture, but the Five Families as well. I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but it might be a case of 'better the devil you know' with these people." Lucky suddenly launched himself out of his chair and out of the room with a muttered "Oh God." "What's up with him?" wondered Ronnie. They continued talking about the best way to proceed with the investigation when twenty-five minutes later, Lucky returned to the room. "Bad news. I think Dante might be right." They all laughed aloud at the way he phrased the statement. "Well, him being right isn't the bad news, but I got a hunch after remembering a part of our conversation with Ordoñez. Remember all that stuff about misunderstandings and disloyalty, Dante? Well, I just tried to check in with Jorge Ortega, and when I couldn't raise him on the phone, I asked Officer Johnson to cruise over to his last known address. Johnson said that the door to the house was unlocked, the home itself pristine, untouched. Ortega's identification and wallet were there; money was hidden in a drawer. But no sign of Ortega. I'll bet he disappeared before we even went to the Ordoñez compound. I'll bet that was why it seemed that Sebastian and Pilar were mocking us. They already knew that he had talked to us. We'll never find his body."

The room fell silent as they digested this development. Claire finally said, "Well, we still have my witness who is willing to come forward in exchange for immunity and protection." "Sweetie," Lucky turned to her, "I hate to tell you, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if this 'witness' is a plant. I'm with Dante; these people don't let witnesses exist. How and why did this person get away from their organization? From the intel we currently have, we're talking about a billion-dollar-plus empire. What wouldn't they do to protect it? We can certainly speak to this person, but I would advise taking whatever we're told with a grain of salt."

Later that night, Lucky and Claire had their first argument since becoming a couple. On the drive home, he was noticeably quiet, so she had stayed silent as well. After they entered the apartment, Claire finally asked, "Lucky, what's wrong? You were awfully quiet on the ride home. You think your car might be bugged after all?"

"I'll have that checked out tomorrow, but no, that's not what's on my mind. I think I want you to step back from the task force."

"What? Why?"

"Claire, there's just something about these people that makes me very uneasy. They made it a point of telling us that they know who the major players in town are. I'm sure they know who all of us on the task force are, which includes you."

"Well, Lucky, there's nothing new about that. We knew these people weren't law-abiding citizens from the start. We also knew that they weren't innocent lambs. Nothing has changed—we figured they would be well informed, didn't we?"

"Yes, we did, but something **has** changed."

"No, trust me. **Nothing** has changed."

"You're pregnant with my child, so I'd say quite a bit has changed."

"I might be pregnant, but I'm also a federal prosecutor. Pursuing criminals is in my job description. It's what I do."

"And I'm telling you I want you to take a step back from it, at least for a while."

"From what? My job? Are you serious? Are **you** taking a step back?"

"Claire, don't be ridiculous. The situations are hardly comparable."

"I'm being ridiculous? Why? Because **you** say so? Listen, Lucky. This is the problem men have! They can fly all over the city with the big 'S' on their chests, but the little women need to be protected from themselves! How dare you accuse me of being ridiculous or irrational, as if these people aren't as big a danger to you as they are to me! I have a job to perform, and I'm going to do it! I came to this town to help put an end to organized crime, and my mission hasn't changed! It was hard enough to get to where I currently am, to be taken seriously. I had to work pretty frickin' hard to overcome a lot of stereotypical attitudes. I can just imagine the reaction my superiors would have if I asked for a leave of absence or to be removed from the task force! 'Well, there she goes, joining the ranks of the typical female. She was a good prosecutor until she went and got pregnant.' Penalizing me for daring to have a family **and** a career. You behave as though I can't be pregnant and still perform my job!"

"You really think that's what this is about for me? That I think you aren't capable of doing your job? You're one of the most able women I know! Don't lump me in with those ignorant men—I've got no problem with you 'having it all'! But I'm telling you, these people give me the strangest vibe, and I don't spook easily. I need you to hear me now. They play for keeps—none of this 'kidnap, release' 'try to blow you up and don't succeed' bullcrap that we're used to with Sonny and Johnny. I'm afraid for you, do you understand that? I love you! If they ever took you, used you to make a point, it would destroy me! If you and our child died because of your involvement in this thing, it would end my life, do you hear me? **End—my—life!** I want you to step back!" His blue eyes were wild and tears were gathering in them, immediately putting out the flames of Claire's anger.

"Love," she said, putting her arms around him and hugging him tightly. "My love. Hear me. Do you really think it would be any different for me if they took you or harmed you? We're both running the same risks here. They already know about me, so taking a step back or away from the task force won't make a difference. I understand your fear, but it isn't unique to you. I'm afraid for you, too. But what is the alternative? Letting them take over Port Charles? We stand together. We work together to end their reign before it even starts or goes any further." She slid her hand through his hair, holding his head against hers before kissing him softly, repeatedly, on the lips. He returned her embrace, holding her as if he never wanted to let go. "Ok. Ok," he finally said, sighing. "For now, we'll let things stand as they are. But just so you know—I'm halfway tempted to hire a bodyguard for you." "Don't you dare!" she exclaimed, laughing. "Not unless you plan to hire one for yourself, as well."


	7. Chapter 7

For the time being, things in Port Charles seemed to have calmed down. It had been more than a month since the torching of Sonny Corinthos' warehouse, and while the PCPD were still investigating the incident, the trail was growing colder by the day. The three schools of thought among the task force members were that John Zacchara had acted alone, that he was working with the Ordoñez Family, or the Ordoñez Family had committed the arson as a "warning shot," announcing to all that there were new, heavier hitters in town. They ruled out Sonny's involvement altogether—the rumor was that the fire had cost his organization several million dollars, and not even an insurance settlement would have allowed him to recoup those losses. Mac decided not to ask any outside agencies for assistance because they just didn't have enough information to warrant it. He made several calls to the FBI office in Buffalo**, **the idea being that at least the groundwork would already be laid if anything else happened. The Feds were already aware of Sebastian and Pilar Ordoñez, and they were very interested in their sudden relocation to Port Charles. Even though all seemed quiet now, the task force and the PCPD were tense and on the alert, waiting for the next salvo to be lobbed.

It was the weekend, so Lucky once again had Cam and Jake. The weather was changing, and spring was in full bloom. Lucky had declared Sunday to be "Family Fun Day," so the Spencers, Claire, and Dante found themselves enjoying barbecue in the park. Cam had begged him for hot dogs and hamburgers, so he manfully tackled the grill, charring only a few pieces of meat. After everyone had eaten, Claire took up residence under a tree, using the shade to block the sun while she kept an eye on Jake, who was taking a nap. She observed Dante, LuLu and Ethan as they played a game of "Keep Away" with Cameron, laughing when she realized that it was Dante from whom the other three were trying to keep the ball away. Lucky came over to the blanket and flopped down beside her, putting his head in her lap, sighing a slightly tired but contented sigh. "It's a beautiful day, isn't it?" Claire asked him. "It is. I love coming to this park in the middle of spring, when all the plants and trees are at their best. It's pretty restful." "This was a good idea you had," Claire stated. "Look at those big kids playing over there. They're having the time of their lives." He turned his head to watch his siblings and Dante play with Cam. "I'm glad they're all getting to know each other better. I want to make it a point from now on that they all are more involved in each other's lives. I just remember how close I was to my Aunt Bobbie and Aunt Ruby when I was a kid. It doesn't make sense for them not to share the same closeness." "Yes," Claire agreed, "one way and another, family is becoming important to all of us, isn't it?" "Ummhmm," he replied. "Speaking of, how are you and Spencer Jr. doing?" "'Spencer Jr.' is fine, but I'm starting to feel like following little Jake into dreamland." "Well-" he had been about to tell her to go ahead and nap when Cam came running up to them. "Daddy, I want some ice cream."

"I didn't bring any ice cream, son."

"From the man," Cam replied, pointing to the ice cream vendor who was several yards away. "Well, Daddy," Claire said, giggling, "you'd better hurry because it looks like the man is getting away." Lucky sat up, his head dropping to his chest briefly. "Ok," he said in resignation, "I'm going. Do you want anything, sweetie?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Hurry, Daddy!" Cam said urgently. Lucky rose to his feet and then took off, running after the ice cream vendor. Cam was getting ready to return to his Aunt LuLu when someone caught his eye. "Mommy!" he shouted, disturbing Jake, who showed his displeasure at being frightened awake by beginning to cry. "Hey guys! What are you doing? Have you been having fun?" Elizabeth was on her lunch break from the hospital, and she decided to surprise the boys by taking part of her break in the park. She pulled Jake against her legs, comforting and calming him. "We have been having fun all day!" exclaimed Cam. "Daddy made barbecue and everything!" "He did?" asked Elizabeth. "That IS fun. Where is Daddy?" "He's over there," Cam said, pointing in the direction in which Lucky had set off running. "Hmm. I don't see him," Elizabeth said, the merest hint of irritation in her voice. Claire began to explain, "Cameron wanted ice cream, so Lucky had to chase the vendor down." "That's fine," said Elizabeth. "Cam, can you do me a favor and take your brother over to Aunt LuLu and Uncle Ethan? I want to talk to Miss Walsh for a minute." Cam grabbed Jake's hand, leading him back to where LuLu, Ethan and Dante were sitting on the grass taking a break from their game playing.

"You wanted to speak to me?" Claire inquired. "Well, this is quite a setup, isn't it? You with Lucky and the family, and my boys? You've really insinuated yourself in tightly, haven't you? I can hardly move for hearing about 'Claire this' and 'Claire that' from Cam and Jake. I just want to make it clear that they are MY boys, not yours, no matter how well you ingratiate yourself with Lucky."

"I'm well aware of whose children they are—I would never try to-" "Elizabeth interrupted her with, "And you might as well also know that you are just a pit stop for Lucky. A momentary infatuation. He and I have a history, dating back to when we were teenagers. No matter what happens between us, he always comes back to me. Everyone knows he will always come back to me," she said, a note of triumph in her voice. Claire looked at her, her head cocked to the side in puzzlement. "You take pride in that? You have a very interesting way of showing love. I guess you're equally proud that you think you're getting away with treating him like dirt and crapping on this 'great history' you have because his love for you always made him come back for more. I suppose it never occurred to you to stop pushing him away in the first place. You call me a momentary infatuation, and say that I've insinuated myself into his life. That everyone knows he will return to you. Well, let me tell you what **I** know. **I** know that I didn't have to chase him or lift a finger—he pursued me, because he wanted me. **I** know that when he tells me he loves me, I can believe it, because his love is deep and genuine. **I** know that you didn't appreciate what you had in him, and now that he wants nothing more to do with you, suddenly you want him, can't live without him. You should have stuck, Ms. Webber. Not every man is willing to be a husband to a woman with"—here she leaned in closer to Elizabeth, whispering—"TWO children who aren't biologically his." "Yes," she added at Elizabeth's look of shock, "I know about Jake now, because Lucky knows he can trust me with the knowledge. His trust in **me** is **implicit**. And here's the last thing I know. What used to be and what is are two different things. He always used to go back to you, past tense. Those days are over. Want to know why? Because I do know what a prize he is, and I don't mind telling him, I don't mind showing him, any time, any way, every day. You threw him away, and now he's with me. I'm afraid you're going to have to live with the consequences of your actions." Lucky walked up with a questioning look on his face after delivering the ice cream to Cam and making sure he shared with his brother. "What's going on here?" he asked them.

"Oh, it seems that we've just had the pregnant equivalent of a smack-down. But I don't think anything more needs to be said. I think we understand each other quite clearly now."

Elizabeth gave her a slight sneer, shaking her head dismissively. "We'll see" was all she could say in response before walking away to say goodbye to the boys and returning to work. "Are you ok?" Lucky asked her after they watched Elizabeth make her way down the concrete path through the park. "Are you kidding? I face down hardened criminals for a living. Elizabeth Webber is light work compared to them." He laughed as he sat down on the blanket. "Do you still want that nap, or are you all riled up now?" he asked jokingly. "Hmm, nap please," she replied, laying her head in his lap and closing her eyes in relaxation.

Lucky studied Claire while she slept, stroking her hair intermittently. It was almost time to leave the park, but he wanted to give her a few more moments of rest before he woke her since she was sleeping so peacefully. He smiled to himself as he thought back over the afternoon. The whole family had a good time—they might have to think about turning this into a family tradition. He felt especially lighthearted. When he returned from getting the ice cream for Cam, he'd stopped short as he recognized Elizabeth's voice. She was being a bit of a witch to Claire and he was about to intervene when Claire responded in her decisive way. And the things she said, the way she delivered them, straight, no histrionics, just plain truth thrilled his heart. She really was spectacular. "Sweetie," he whispered, shaking her shoulder slightly.

"Hmm?"

"Sweetheart, time to wake up. We need to go."

"Two more minutes."

"Is that really going to help? You can go back to sleep when we get home. Come on, get up." Claire sat up, grumbling the whole way, stretching hugely. Lucky stood up first, then he reached his hand down to help her to her feet. "You just wait until you're in the middle of a good nap. Then you'll see how it is." "I'm sure I will," he said placatingly. "Jake, Cam! Hey you guys, it's time to go home." He began packing away the picnic gear, putting it in the trunk of his car before returning to Claire's side. LuLu and Dante walked up to them, Ethan trailing behind holding Cam's hand, a happy Jake riding on his shoulders. "Listen," LuLu said, "if you want, Dante and I can take Cam and Jake for a little while longer if you two want to 'spend some time' together." "Thanks for the offer, but it's getting late, and I'm sure that as soon as their heads hit their pillows, they're going to be out like lights anyway. Elizabeth will be by later to take them back to her place. This was fun, wasn't it?" "It was," she replied. "We'll have to make this a new Spencer family tradition or something." "Yeah. I was thinking the same thing." They said their good-byes and separated there, and Lucky bundled his sleepy crew into the car, bound for home, and bed.

"Do you have anything pressing that you have to do this afternoon?" Claire asked Lucky as they were getting ready for work the next morning. "Not especially—why?" he replied. "I'm having my first ultrasound this afternoon around two o'clock, remember? If you plan on being there…" "Of course I'm going to be there! How cool is this—we're going to get to see Spencer Jr. for the first time. Are you nervous about it?" Claire walked to him and put her arms around him, embracing him from behind. "Excited, apprehensive, and everything in between. Even though I can daily see the changes in my own body, somehow actually being able to see the baby makes it seem that much more real. What about you? How are you feeling about it?" "I'm excited, too. This whole thing is so wild to me still. I can't wait to see our child. You're getting a bit more of a bump, too. You won't be able to hide it much longer." "I'm holding out for as long as possible! I dread making the phone call to my bosses letting them know what's happening. They are going to be infuriated. They're going to think I did this on purpose." He turned in her arms, returning the hug. "Claire, you're entitled to a life. I know how much your career means to you, but if you wanted or needed to, you could open up your own practice here. Hopefully, your bosses will understand, but if they don't, you still have options. We're going to make this situation work for us both, ok? For now, though, I don't want you to worry about it. Concentrate on having a healthy, stress-free pregnancy." "That I can do. So I'll see you later? At two o'clock?" He kissed her lips gently. "I'll meet you in the lobby and we can go up together."

Claire and Lucky were awestruck and speechless as they stared fixedly at the ultrasound monitor. That tiny little being was a person, the child they created. Lucky slid his arm around Claire's shoulders as they both fought back tears. "So," Dr. Lee was saying, "everything is progressing along nicely. Fetal development is good. You can see the head, the legs, and the little arms. How have you been feeling?" Claire thought back and realized that the last few mornings, her nausea had tapered off considerably. "I feel good. The nausea in the mornings is going away. The only complaint I have is that I'm tired a lot; I find myself wanting to nap constantly." "That's fairly normal. Are you keeping up with your prenatal vitamins? Remember that it's taking a lot for this little guy to form and grow. Everything he needs to do that is coming from you." "You said 'he,'" Lucky interrupted. "Can you already tell that the baby is a boy?" "I'm sorry—I shouldn't have put it quite that way. I just don't like using the term 'it.' We won't be able to tell the sex of the baby for a few more weeks yet. Is that something you two are interested in knowing?" "Eventually I think I'll want to know," he said. "What about you, sweetie?" "It will definitely help us make better plans for the future, which should make you happy," she responded playfully. "Well, hopefully, that's something we can find out on the next visit, then. One more thing," she added, reaching for her Doppler monitor. She squeezed a drop of cold gel on Claire's abdomen before saying, "Let's see here…" Dr. Lee positioned the tip of the monitor against Claire's belly, and they waited. Suddenly, a sound like a stampeding herd of horses filled the room. "Wow," Lucky said silently, almost reverently. Claire was more taken aback and anxious at the sound. "That's amazing. Is it supposed to sound like that? That sounds awfully fast! Why is the heartbeat so fast?" "Don't worry. For this stage, 140 beats per minute is perfectly within normal limits. I'm going to give you a copy of your sonogram, and we can set up your next appointment time. Everything looks good, Claire. Keep up with your vitamins and nutrition, take naps more often to combat the tiredness, and just enjoy this time in your life."

When they left Dr. Lee's exam room, the last people they expected to see were Elizabeth and Nikolas coming from the opposite direction. Elizabeth was experiencing cramps and Dr. Lee had wanted to determine if they were the actual beginnings of labor, or Braxton-Hicks contractions. She was still a couple of weeks from her due date, but Dr. Lee discovered that she was indeed in early labor, so she had been admitted to the hospital. An awkward pause descended as they stood there in the middle of the OB/GYN floor. The looks on Elizabeth's face rapidly changed as she tried to process what Lucky and Claire's presence on this floor could possibly mean. Nikolas was the first one to speak. "I'll be right back. I want to call the nanny and check on Spencer. Are you going to be all right on your own for a few minutes?" he asked Elizabeth. "Yeah, you go ahead—I'll be fine." She continued watching Lucky's face, waiting for him to say something, anything to explain what he and Claire were doing there. Finally, Claire said, "I think you two might need to talk. Lucky, I'll be downstairs in the lobby." He gripped her hand briefly before raising it to his lips, kissing it. "Thanks. I'll be there shortly." Claire went to the elevator, and after looking back once, she got in and rode down to the lobby to wait.

He and Elizabeth both spoke at the same time. "Lucky, what's going on?" "Is everything ok? You first," he added.

"Why are the two of you here? On this floor? Somehow I don't think a visit to the gynecologist is someplace a woman takes a man on a date."

"You're right. Why don't we have a seat over here?" he said, pointing to the chairs in the lounge area. After they were seated, he sighed as he reached for the proper words to explain the situation. "Maybe I should have told you this a while back. Claire is pregnant. Almost three months pregnant. We were coming from Dr. Lee's office for Claire's first ultrasound when we ran into you and Nikolas."

"How did this happen, Lucky? Why? What were you thinking!"

"Wait a minute. We didn't plan this, it just happened. You more than anyone know that accidents sometimes happen. We were taking precautions, but they failed, and she's going to have my child. That's really all there is to it, except to add that we're pretty happy about the whole thing."

"And what about Cam and Jake? What happens to them now?"

"What do you mean? Cam and Jake are my sons. They're always going to be my sons. Nothing is going to change that."

"That's what you say now, but this child will be yours biologically. You can't tell me that won't make a difference eventually."

"Can't I? Do you know me at all? My child with Claire can't change the love I have for Cam and Jake, who are mine as well. My sons. You don't need to worry that anything will change for me in that regard. But there is something else we need to discuss. I haven't even mentioned this to Claire because I needed to tell you first. Remember Wood Lot # 17?"

"The land we chose to build our house on?"

"Yeah. I'm taking out a loan from the bank, and my dad is going to kick in a little bit, too. I'm buying that land, Elizabeth. I'm buying that land and having a house built for Claire and myself, and the kids."

"I don't understand. The last time we talked about this, you said that you two were just spending time together, casually. That wasn't that long ago, Lucky. Now all of a sudden, you're building a house for her? What's going on? Why are you moving so fast?"

"I don't think I'm moving so fast, I just think I'm moving on. You are having your child with Nikolas and I'm having one with Claire. We're moving forward, that's all. Getting on with our lives."

"I can't believe this. Do you really love her?"

"You know, I do. I didn't expect to, or want to, after what you and I went through. She got in under my defenses, though. She's just so giving, so straightforward, so loving-" Elizabeth cut him off. "Spare me the laundry list of her virtues, ok?"

"I'm sorry. I'm just trying to answer your question. Now why are you here? Is everything ok with the baby?"

"Do you really care?" "If I didn't care, I wouldn't ask. I'm not obligated to anymore, you know. I still care about you. I don't think that will ever change. I'll always want good things for you—you're still the mother of my sons. Would you answer the question?"

"I'm in early labor. I've been having contractions off and on all day, but they're starting to get stronger and more purposeful. I dropped Cam and Jake off at Gram's house, because I think tonight's the night that this new baby will arrive."

"Well, I wish you luck. Both of you," he added as Nikolas approached them. "I hope everything goes well, and you have a safe delivery and a healthy baby." Inclining his head slightly towards them, he gave them a nod of farewell and then set off to find Claire.

Lucky returned to the PCPD, but Claire went back to his apartment to rest after they left the hospital. Slowly, they were moving what would fit of her belongings into Lucky's apartment, planning to temporarily store everything else. The thought of letting go of her apartment, something she considered a safety net, filled her with trepidation, but she was willing to face that fear to continue building a future with Lucky. Soon, she knew he was going to want to discuss moving into a house so there would be room for all the children and a nursery. A nursery. She still couldn't quite believe that in a few months' time, she was going to be a mother. She rubbed her belly absentmindedly as she reflected on seeing the baby and hearing its heartbeat for the first time. She picked up the sonogram and stared at it, smiling. "Who are you going to be, little Spencer Jr.?" she wondered. "How much of you is me, and how much is your daddy? I can't wait to find out." She went into the kitchen to make a sandwich and to slice an apple, taking her snack into the living room and turning on the television. She sat and ate contentedly as she channel surfed. When she had finished eating, she curled up on the couch and began dozing, dreaming of the life she and Lucky were creating together.

Lucky sat down at his desk after getting a cup of coffee. He was flipping through a cold case file when he realized Dante was waiting for him to look up at him. 'What, man?" he wanted to know.

"So Claire had her ultrasound today, right? We haven't really talked about it yet. How does it feel?"

"How does what feel?"

"Claire, the baby, all of it. At first you two were keeping things light, then she ends up pregnant, and now you're on the fast track to fatherhood."

"You do know that I have two other sons? I was already on the fatherhood track."

"You know what I mean. With Claire."

Lucky thought for a moment before responding. "The thing is, I always thought I would be with Elizabeth forever. That no matter how many times we got together and broke up, we would end up together. That all of my children would be hers, too. Then this thing with Nikolas happened. That killed something inside me, man, something I thought would be dead forever. Then Claire and I started spending time together, and we just started clicking. I love everything about her, even when she's being impossible and driving me crazy. I see her getting bigger with my child, and my heart wants to explode or something. I don't know how else to describe it."

"So you don't hope to get back with Elizabeth someday?"

"No, I don't. What I finally realized is that loving her was my way of trying to hold on to something that was in the past, long gone. We grew up. We changed. I've put that dream behind me. Claire is my future. Claire and our child, and Cam and Jake. I told Elizabeth about Lot 17 today."

"Oh man, I'll bet she wasn't too thrilled with that."

"No, she wasn't. I still don't get her. She had me. I was hers. She didn't want me, but now that I'm moving on, she acts like I'm doing something wrong."

"Some people want what they can't have. You know—the whole 'you don't miss it until it's gone' thing."

"Well, that's too bad. I wish her well. I don't wish her well with Nikolas, because I'm still too pissed at him to wish anything good for him, but I wish her well. I know that sounds kind of crazy."

"No, not really. I get it."

"Not to change the subject, but what about you and my sister?"

"I love LuLu. I love her a lot. Things are 'progressing' between us. That's all I'm gonna say about that," he added, laughing. "After all, you are her brother. I'm sure some things you just don't wanna know."

"You got that right. Forget I asked," he went on, shaking his head as he returned his attention to the cold case file.

In the time to come, Lucky would always remember this exact moment. He would remember almost spilling his coffee on the file that he was reading, and deliberately moving the cup out of harm's way. He would recall that something he had read in the file was trying to jog his memory, to make a helpful connection. He would remember saying goodnight to Ronnie, who was leaving for the evening. The way he closed the file and placed it in one of his desk drawers, locking it away to be tackled in the morning. He was putting on his jacket when his cell phone rang. "Lucky?" It was LuLu. "Hey, sis, what's up? You looking for Dante? He's still here, but I think he's getting ready to leave…" "No, I'm calling for you." She stopped speaking, and immediately, he knew something was wrong. "What's wrong, LuLu? What's going on? Where are you?"

"I'm at the hospital, Lucky."

"Oh, God. Are you ok? What's the matter? You're scaring me here."

"No, I'm fine. Everything's fine. Elizabeth just had her baby, a baby boy."

"She told me they were having a boy. Is she ok?"

"Yeah, she's fine—the delivery was smooth."

"Ok, then what's going on, LuLu? You're freaking me out. Just say it." She sighed softly, then took a deep breath. "Ok. I don't know how else to say it, so I'm just gonna say it. Lucky, I've seen the photo albums Mom and Dad have of us—pictures they took of us when we were little. I've seen pictures of you when you were a baby, when you were a newborn. I think you'd better get over here."


	8. Chapter 8

Dante was driving Lucky's car because Lucky didn't trust himself behind the wheel. His mind was spinning in a thousand different directions as they sped through the streets of Port Charles toward the hospital. Dante understood his need for quiet reflection, so he didn't try to make conversation as they rode. They arrived at General Hospital, and Dante drove Lucky up to the front entrance of the hospital. "You ready for this?" Dante asked him.

"No. But what choice do I have?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna go park the car, and then I'll meet you up there."

"Thanks, man. I really appreciate this. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't still been at the station tonight." Lucky got out of the car, breathing deeply as he watched Dante pull away. Squaring his shoulders, he entered the hospital doors and walked over to the elevators. He rubbed his forehead and sighed before stepping into the elevator, his hand fussing with his shirt cuff in his nervousness. He finally reached the OB/GYN floor. Everything in him wanted to run, but he forced himself to approach the Nurses' Station and ask for Elizabeth's room number. LuLu came out of Elizabeth's room to meet him. "Are you ok?" she asked him, putting her arms around him and hugging him soundly. "Yeah. I think so. I'm not really sure right now."

"How did you get here? Did you drive yourself?"

"No, Dante drove me in my car. He's downstairs now, parking. He said he'd meet us up here. Where-" he paused—"where are they?"

"Come with me," she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him forward to Elizabeth's room.

He went into the room almost fearfully, so afraid of what he would find as he approached the hospital bassinet. He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, looking over at a dozing Elizabeth before reaching down for the baby, and lifting him out of the bassinet. He took in the sleeping form tightly wrapped in blankets. The tiny cap covering the little head. The little face that was so unmistakably his own. For a moment, he felt his legs sag as a feeling of dizziness swept over him. LuLu held his arm to help steady him. He lifted his eyes to the ceiling, trying in vain to blink back the tears forming and beginning to roll down his cheeks. Elizabeth stirred and fully awoke when she realized he was in the room. She looked at his face, and began to cry. "Lucky, I'm so sorry. You should have been here, but I didn't know! We didn't know! We had two paternity tests done! This shouldn't have happened! You should have been here," she sobbed. A sudden feeling of rage came over him, so intense that he thought surely the baby must feel it, and he placed him back into the bassinet. "It's ok, Elizabeth," he said softly, wiping his tears with a tissue LuLu handed him. "I know you didn't do this. I know you aren't responsible for this. Where is Nikolas? Where—is—he?" he asked LuLu sharply when she didn't answer him. LuLu pulled him to the corner of the room. "What are you going to do?" she whispered in a quavering voice. "Don't worry," he whispered back. "You'll still have three brothers at the end of the night. I just want to talk to him. And I need you to do me a favor. Call Claire for me. Tell her I need her over here. I'm going to find our brother."

"Lucky, just don't-"

"Don't what, LuLu? Don't hurt him? Don't kill him? Don't worry," he repeated too calmly. "I just want to talk to him."

When he exited the room, he saw Dante leaning against the Nurses' Station, speaking in low tones to Nikolas, who was nodding as they spoke. They both straightened up as he approached them. "Could you excuse us, Dante? I and my brother need to speak privately."

"Yeah, sure. I'll go in to see the baby, and sit with LuLu."

He and Nikolas walked over to the fourth floor lounge area. He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Nikolas interjected, "I suppose LuLu called you. I was hoping she would. You and I haven't talked lately, but I wanted to thank you for encouraging her to come to me, to repair the rift between us. That meant a lot to me."

"I'm not a cruel man, Nikolas. But I didn't do it for you. Being caught in the middle was hurting her, and I didn't think that was fair. That's all."

"I didn't imagine you did it for me; all the same, thank you." They regarded each other for a moment. "Did you do this?" Lucky asked him, his voice low, angry.

"What? What exactly are you accusing me of? No one was more surprised than I was when Aiden was born, and we got a chance to see him…"

"Oh," Lucky asked softly, "is that my son's name? Aiden? Thank you for telling me." Nikolas closed his eyes in exasperation. "Lucky," he began, but he was quickly cut off. "Oh, I know. This has Helena's cloven hoof prints all over it for sure. But I don't believe she acted alone, not after two paternity tests. You told me to my face your plans for Elizabeth. How you wanted her for yourself. How likely was that to happen if the baby wasn't yours? See, genetics is a funny thing. You might never have gotten caught if the baby hadn't been born looking exactly like me."

"I can't believe you think I'm capable of something like this! You know how Spencer was kept from me when he was born! Why would I deliberately put you through something like that?"

"You're asking me to divine your motives? I would never have thought you would be capable of betraying me by chasing after and sleeping with my fiancée, either. What do I know about your reasons for what you do? You see something, you want it, you go after it. Businesses, international holdings, women, children—it's all the same to you. And if I really think about it, this is a bit of a pattern with you, isn't it, Cassadine? After all, wasn't Courtney someone else's wife when you got ahold of her?"

The sudden rage on Nikolas' face was fearsome. "How dare you? How do you dare to say that to me? Don't even go there! The situations aren't even close to being the same!"

"From where I'm standing, I don't see any difference. There truly is no end to how low you will sink to get what you want. I put nothing past you." Lucky shook his head in anger and disgust before stalking away, leaving Nikolas red-faced and furious. He was heading back into Elizabeth's room when the elevator doors opened, and Claire stepped out. "Lucky, what-" is as far as she got before he reached for her, clutching her closely. He buried his face in her neck, and she knew that whatever was wrong, it was serious and it was bad. "Baby," she said, moving back and looking into his tear-stained face, "talk to me. What's the matter?"

"Elizabeth just had the baby tonight, Claire. For now, they're calling him Aiden. He's my baby, Claire. He's my son." She gasped and her hand went over her heart as if to keep it in her chest. Her knees went weak. "What?" she whispered. "Are you serious? Of course you're serious. Why would you lie about something like this? What happened, Lucky? I don't understand. I really don't understand!" Her voice rose in a combination of fear and puzzlement. "Shh. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have blurted it out like that. Come over here. Let's sit down, ok?" He led her over to the lounge area, throwing a scornful look at Nikolas, who sat huddled and dejected in a chair against the wall. "Ok, explain this to me. I thought there were two paternity tests done. I thought both of them showed that your brother was the father of Elizabeth's baby." "There were, and they did. But I think Helena did something to alter the results. This is a specialty of hers, altering test results. She didn't count on the baby looking just like me when he was born; otherwise, her machinations might have worked. We haven't had another DNA test done, but I don't need one. That baby is 100% Spencer."

"My God. So what are you thinking? How are you feeling?"

"Right now, all I feel is a burning rage. I missed his birth. If they didn't record it, I'll never get to see it. All throughout the months of his development, I was missing out. I feel incredibly cheated, and that makes me angry enough to strangle someone with my bare hands. I'm afraid to go hold my own son because I'm too pissed off right now, and I don't want any of that negativity transferring to him. So I'm missing even more." He leaned his head against hers before kissing her softly. "Thank you for coming so quickly. I felt like I was going to come out of my own skin."

"You don't have to thank me—of course I'm going to be by your side when you need me! I know you have to stay, but do you want me to stay with you? Will that be awkward?"

"I don't care how awkward it is. I need you here. I'm going to go ask Epiphany if there are any empty rooms on this floor so that you can lay down and rest, but I need you nearby, ok?" LuLu was walking towards them, and she heard the last part of his sentence. "I'll stay with Claire if you want me to, Lucky. Elizabeth is asking for you."

"Thanks, LuLu. Let me get her settled in a room and then I'll go back in with Elizabeth."

Epiphany found an empty room, and Lucky helped Claire onto the bed, smiling a little for the first time since LuLu's phone call. "Who knows? In a few months' time, you might be right back in this very room. I'll just be down the hall, ok? I want you to rest, or watch tv. LuLu will keep you company. If you get hungry, let me know, and I'll make sure you get something to eat."

"Lucky, don't worry about me. Go handle what you need to handle. I've always been self-sufficient, so I can take care of myself."

"Yeah," he retorted, "and sometimes you're too self-sufficient. I'm always going to worry about you, so don't forget what I said." He thanked LuLu again, and then took a moment to clear his mind before reentering Elizabeth's room.

When he entered the room, Elizabeth held her hand out to him, and he hesitated for only a moment before walking forward and reaching back for hers. They remained that way, their hands clasped securely until Lucky sat down on the edge of her bed. For a time, neither of them could speak. Finally, Lucky broke the silence. "I don't blame you for this, Elizabeth. I know you aren't responsible for what happened. I fully blame Helena for this. I don't know what her motivation was, other than making me suffer, but I will find out. In the meantime, how are you feeling?"

"Physically, I'm fine. It was an easy birth, as births go. No complications. I'm sore of course, but I have pain medication in my IV, so the pain is marginal. So physically, I'm ok. Emotionally is another story altogether. It's like a never-ending nightmare. I can't believe that you missed out on so much. That we didn't get the chance to share everything to do with Aiden. I can't tell you how much I hate that you weren't here to see his birth."

"Did anyone record it?"

"We were going to, but then we forgot the camera at the house, and Nikolas was here to see it, so…" Lucky closed his eyes as the disappointment rolled through him. "So his birth went well? Ten fingers, ten toes? Everything normal?"

"Yes. He's perfect."

"Aiden?"

"If you don't like the name 'Aiden,' we can change it."

"How did you come to choose it?" he asked.

"It's a name I've always liked."

"So you chose it?"

"Yes, it was my idea."

"Then we can let it stand. Aiden is a good name. But I would like to add 'Lorenzo' to it. Aiden Lorenzo Spencer. What do you think?"

"I like it, Lucky. I love it." They shared tentative smiles. "Would you like to hold him again?" "Yeah, I would," Lucky said, rising from the bed and walking over to the bassinet, and his son. Gently he scooped Aiden into his arms, crooning softly to the infant as he began to squirm slightly. "It's ok, baby. It's ok, my son. I've got you." Aiden opened his eyes, appearing to look directly at his father upon hearing his voice. "Well, hello there, Aiden," Lucky murmured sweetly. "Welcome to the world." He nuzzled his son briefly before dropping a slight kiss on his forehead. He stood there, swaying gently back and forth, gazing down into Aiden's face, watching the expressions flit across it. Elizabeth sat quietly, taking in the scene, then asking, "What do we do now, Lucky? This changes everything, don't you think?" "What do you mean?" he asked, returning his gaze to hers.

"Well, we need to talk about his future. Our future."

"I don't think the hospital is the appropriate place for us to have this discussion, Elizabeth. Why don't we wait until you're well enough to go home? We can talk once you've been released from the hospital."

"But we have a lot of things we need to talk about now! A lot of issues between us that need to be resolved! We still have to tell the boys and Spencer what's happening!"

"And we'll do all that, but not here, not right now. Nothing is going to be solved tonight, anyway. For the time being, we can enjoy the fact that you're both here and safe and well. Right now, that's all that matters." He spied a rocking chair in the corner and sitting in it, he began rocking his son slowly back and forth, still captivated by his little face. "It's freaky," he eventually uttered aloud, "how much he looks like me. It's a good thing, too, otherwise they might have gotten away with whatever they were planning."

"They? Surely you don't believe Nikolas was in on this with Helena? He wouldn't do that to you, to us."

"In my opinion, there are no bounds to what my brother wouldn't do to get what he wanted. You're preaching to the wrong choir, Elizabeth. I don't know if he was involved. But I will find out." He sat for a few more minutes before rising from the chair, and walking toward the bassinet to lay Aiden back down. "Or do you want to hold him? I can pull the bassinet closer to the bed." "I'll take him," she responded. "Where are you going?" she asked him after he placed Aiden in her arms.

"I need to go check on Claire, and then go run a quick errand."

"You're leaving the hospital?"

"Only briefly, but Claire is here. She's just down the hall, in another room. I wanted her to rest, but I also wanted her close by." Elizabeth regarded Lucky for a moment, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Lucky, we really do need to talk."

"We will, Elizabeth. We will." He left her room, closing the door softly behind him, before walking down the corridor to where Claire was staying. Entering there, he saw Dante and LuLu sharing a lounge chair, both dozing quietly. Claire was leaning up on her arm, channel surfing. He gave her a slight buss on the lips. "Why aren't you sleeping?"

"I did fall asleep for a little while, but this isn't my bed, and it isn't the most comfortable thing in the world… Is everything all right? Did you get a chance to see him?"

"Yeah, I did. Everything's fine. We're going to stick with the name Aiden. Aiden Lorenzo Spencer."

"I like it. 'Lorenzo,' huh? I guess that makes him an official Spencer," she added, chuckling softly aloud.

"Very funny. I suppose it does make him official. We've got to have an 'el' name in there somewhere. Listen, sweetie. I need to go out for a while. I hate to wake Dante up, but I need him to go with me."

"I'm just going to go back home and wait for you there, ok?" He looked into her eyes, then gently kissed them shut. "I want you to wait for me here. I'll be back in a while, and we can go home together. Dante can take my car, and I'll pick it up later on today. I won't be long, I promise. Ok?" He extracted her promise that she would wait for him, and then he woke Dante, shaking his shoulder. "Dante." Dante's eyes flew open immediately. "What's up? Everything ok?"

"Yeah, but I have something I need to do, and I need your help. It won't take long."

"Sure. Ok. Yeah, let's go." Dante slid past LuLu and they left the room, and the hospital.

"Are you sure about this, man?" Dante asked as they surveilled Helena's yacht.

"Surer than I've ever been of anything. Enough is enough, and I have had enough."

"And you're pretty sure there is only the one guard?"

"As far as I know, Thor is the only one."

"And you want me to…"

"Incapacitate him by any means necessary."

"Yeah. I can do that. Just be careful."

"No sweat, but I want this finished once and for all." They crouched down low as they approached Helena Cassadine's yacht, stopping to listen before continuing on. Lucky climbed aboard first, then Dante, both with guns drawn. With his eyes and hands, Lucky told Dante to circle the perimeter of the yacht, while he would go below. Dante nodded, and they took off in opposite directions.

Helena's eyes snapped open when she felt the cold steel against her forehead. "Good morning, Helena. It's very early, but it's still morning. No," he said sharply as she reached for the lamp switch, "don't move. I'm in a very strange mood this morning, and besides, this conversation is better conducted in semi-darkness. The moonlight is sufficient enough." She huffed a contemptuous breath. "I don't know what you think you're doing, but when Thor discovers you…"

His eyes adjusted to the darkness as he stared at her. "I wouldn't be depending on Thor right now, Helena. Thor has his own problems by now. If all he ends up with later on is a sore head, he can count himself **lucky**. See there," he went on, laughing at her anger, "I made a funny. Maybe my sense of humor is returning to me. It's been sorely tried tonight. Sit up, slowly."

"What is the meaning of this outrage?" she asked him cattily. "If you wanted to see me, all you had to do was approach me like a gentleman."

"Don't get this wrong, Hels. I'm not my father. He might find you inexplicably attractive, but all I feel for you is repulsion. But let's talk about meanings. Two questions. Why did you switch the paternity tests for my child? Was Nikolas in on it?"

"I don't know what you mean," she blustered haughtily. "Ok. See, I'm tired," he replied as he removed his gun from safety mode. "I've been up all day and now all night. My patience, what there is of it, is wearing incredibly thin. I won't be responsible for what happens if you make me snap, because I am in no mood to play your petty little mind games. One last time," he said, racking a round into the chamber of the gun, then looking back at her, his head cocked to the side. "Why did you change the paternity test results for my son, and was your son of a bastard grandson in on it? Answer me!" She jumped as she realized she was seeing something in his eyes that she'd never seen before. "Of course I changed the results," she said, deciding to brazen it out. "Who else could have pulled this off so perfectly, for so long? Why did I do it? Because I could! Because making you suffer in whatever way possible is the least you and your rotten family deserve!"

"Fair enough. Now. What was Nikolas' involvement in your little plot?" They stared at each other—Lucky unmoving, waiting her out. Finally, she tossed her head slightly as she grudgingly said, "He had no knowledge of what I had done. He was not involved in any way. No matter how angry he might be with you right now, he would not have approved."

"Hmm. Glad to hear it. Now I'm gonna talk, and you're gonna listen, and take heed. This is life or death, Helena. Your life. Your death. My son was born last night. Aiden Lorenzo Spencer. I missed his birth because of your evildoing. If it weren't for the fact that he looks so much like me, something you stupidly didn't count as a possibility, I might have missed out on his life. The thought of that alone tempts me to put a bullet in your head right now. I've missed out on a lot of things in my life because of you. I'm not missing one more thing. This is how it's going to be. You're leaving for Greece, today. I don't care how you do it—by plane, by this piece of crap yacht, on your broomstick. I have to go check in on my family, but I will be back, and you'd better be gone. I'm not my father. I find nothing charming or purposeful about your existence. When I come back, if I find you still here, if I find you still in Port Charles, I will end your life. You need to think about this. There is no one on this earth that would miss you, and there are too many people who would be willing to either look the other way, or help me get rid of the body. If you've never believed anything I've ever said to you, you'd better believe this. If I ever see you again, if you ever return to Port Charles, I will end you. You might not even see it coming."

He backed slowly out of the room, joining Dante on deck, giving an unconscious Thor a vicious kick to the kidney. "Is everything ok?" Dante asked him. "Yeah. Everything's ok," Lucky replied.

"Is she still alive?"

"Yeah. For now."


	9. Chapter 9

While Lucky and Dante were taking care of loose ends with Helena, Elizabeth was getting out of bed for the first time since delivering Aiden. She wanted to stretch her legs, and to prove to the doctors and nurses that she was recovering quickly from giving birth, and ready to be released in a few hours from the hospital. Aiden had been returned to the nursery, and she was ready for some much-needed sleep, but her thirst drove her to an ice machine down the hall from her room. She was returning to her room when she spotted Claire coming toward her. Claire smiled faintly when she approached Elizabeth. "It looks like we had a similar idea. I was getting thirsty myself. Do you know if there is a drink machine on this floor?"

"Not on this floor, but there is ice water around the corner."

"Should you be on your feet?"

"Yes—if I didn't do it on my own, the nursing staff would have forced me to get up. They have to make sure everything is functioning properly before I can be released."

"Ah. I see. Well, I haven't said it yet, so congratulations. I'm happy that everything went well for you, and for Aiden. I haven't seen him yet, but I know he's gorgeous, since he looks like his father. I'm sure you're very grateful."

"Lucky and I are both grateful that he is healthy and perfect. We had a very long talk tonight about him, among other things."

"Yes, I'm sure you both had a lot to discuss concerning the new developments."

"About that. We need to talk, woman to woman."

"Oh good, because our last woman to woman talk went so well. Are you sure you want a repeat?"

"Well, this is a different situation altogether. Surely you see that."

"This ought to be interesting. How so?"

"Well, Lucky and I didn't know that he was Aiden's father the last time you and I talked—everything has changed now."

"Again I ask, how so?"

"Look, I don't mean to be indelicate, but Lucky and I talked tonight. About everything. I know he doesn't want to hurt your feelings, and I think he's afraid that if he tells you the truth, you'll cut him out of his child's life."

"He actually said this to you? And what exactly is the truth?"

"That he rushed into a relationship with you on the rebound from me. He didn't intend for you to get pregnant. And now he's stuck."

Claire scrutinized Elizabeth thoughtfully. "Now I guess this is the part where I run crying into the night, pack my belongings, and head off for parts unknown, right? Because I'm so devastated by Lucky's treachery? How cliched. How Harlequin Romance. You and I are two totally different creatures, Elizabeth-that much is obvious. Here's the thing. Lucky and I are adults. If he wants me out of his life, he knows all he has to do is tell me so, and I'm gone. No weeping and wailing, no falling to the floor and clutching at his legs—none of that. I'm an independent woman. I can take care of myself; I always have, and I always will. Would it hurt me if he decided to end things with me? Yes, it would, because I love him. But would it **end** **me**? Not hardly. You see, my independence is freedom for Lucky. I don't use trickery and guilt to bind him to my side. He knows he can always tell me the truth, because honesty is what our relationship is based on. And he also knows that no matter what he tells me, he's not going to have to come find me in abandoned churches and on hospital roofs. He doesn't have to rescue me. I want him, but I don't need him. **Your** need for him, **your** dependence on him, on the other hand, is a noose around his neck, always threatening to choke him every time he draws a free breath. Now when I mention this conversation to him, and I will mention it to him, what do you suppose his response will be? It would almost be worth the price of admission to hear how you plan to spin it. I've kept you long enough; you really should be off your feet."

"I'm not wrong that things have changed. You'll see. Lucky still loves me, and Aiden being his son is going to make a difference. You think you have all the answers, don't you?"

"Not all of them. Just the ones that matter pertaining to my relationship with Lucky."

Elizabeth walked back to her room, her mind already thinking of what she would say to Lucky if Claire did indeed mention their conversation to him. Somehow, she had to get him to see that Aiden turning out to be his son changed everything about their circumstances.

Claire watched Elizabeth walk away, confident that once again, she had won the battle of words. Elizabeth did unknowingly score a couple of choice hits, however…

"What do you think?" Dante asked Lucky as they left the pier, heading back to the hospital. "Is Helena gonna leave town?"

"I hope she does. I hope to God she does," replied Lucky.

"Listen. Do you really think you could kill her?"

Lucky thought for a moment before answering. "I'm no Jason Morgan. The idea of actually having to kill her… But this is what I'm thinking. I'm thinking I have a family to protect. I'm gonna have four kids under the age of seven who'll be looking to me to keep them safe. Then there's Claire, and even Elizabeth. Helena has already proven that she doesn't consider women and children off limits. To keep what she did to me from happening to any one of them—yeah, I'd kill her in a heartbeat."

When they arrived at the hospital, the sun was barely lighting the early morning sky. Lucky was exhausted, both physically and mentally, but he still needed to check on Elizabeth and Aiden before he and Claire could finally go home. He and Dante rode up to the fourth floor in weary silence. "Man," Lucky eventually said, "I've gotta thank you again for riding shotgun with me tonight, and for supporting me through all this." "Hey, you're my partner, and you're LuLu's brother, so you get a two-fer. I'm just glad I could help, because I know none of this is gonna be easy for any of you." "Yeah," laughed Lucky. "That's an understatement." They got off the elevator and split up, Lucky going into Elizabeth's room, and Dante looking for LuLu in the room set up for Claire. Lucky quietly approached Elizabeth's bed, calling her name softly and gently nudging her shoulder. "Elizabeth. Hey." She jerked awake, smiling as she emerged from a wonderful dream involving herself, Lucky and all three of their boys. "Lucky, hey," she answered as she began sitting up. "No, don't get up—I'm not staying long. I just wanted to check in on you and Aiden before we left the hospital. Where is he?"

"They took him back to the nursery. They had to keep track of his vitals throughout the night to make sure it would be safe to release us both later on today."

"Well, if they do release you today, give me a call and I'll come get you and take you home. Or have you already arranged something with Nikolas?"

"I thought I'd be seeing him today because we need to explain what's happening with Aiden to Spencer, and he was hoping we could do that together, but I haven't seen much of him since all this happened. He won't be taking me home." Actually, Nikolas had planned to come pick her and Aiden up and take them home specifically so they could talk to Spencer together, but once Lucky left the room, she was going to call him and tell him she had made other arrangements.

"So he just abandoned you here? That figures. Whatever. Yeah, so anyway, I'll come back whenever you call to get you both safely home."

"Will we have a chance to talk then?" she asked.

"Yeah. We'll talk then." When he came out of Elizabeth's room, he saw that Dante, LuLu and Claire were already waiting for him out by the Nurses' Station. "Hey, sweetie," he said, dropping a slight kiss on Claire's forehead. "Did you sleep at all?" "Yes. I did," she said rather shortly. "Are we going home now?" He looked at her for a moment, frowning. Something was off here… "Yeah. I wanted to stop for a minute at the nursery to have a quick look at Aiden first, but if you want to leave right now, we can go." "No. Let's go have a look at him. I haven't seen him, either." Claire took off, walking rapidly toward the nursery window. Lucky, Dante and LuLu exchanged puzzled glances, LuLu throwing up her hands in an "I don't know" gesture. At the nursery window, Lucky motioned for the nurse on duty to lift up his son so they could take a peek at him. Claire spoke first. "He's beautiful, Lucky. Congratulations." "Thanks, Claire," he replied, still wondering why her attitude seemed to be somewhat frosty. "Yeah, man, hey," added Dante, "congrats. He's a good-looking kid." "Thanks, Dante, and listen, LuLu? Thank you for staying with Claire for me, and thanks for calling me in the first place. I really can't thank you both enough for what you've done for us. Dante," he went on, "could you drive my car back to your place and drop it off at the station later on? I'm gonna drive Claire home in her car."

Claire interrupted him. "Lucky, that's really not necessary. I can drive my own car home, and you can just drive yours. It doesn't make sense for Dante to take your car home when he can go with LuLu."

"I told you I would drive you home when I asked you to wait for me here."

"And I'm telling you that it's not necessary. I'm hardly an invalid. I can drive my own car." They stared at each other in a silent battle of wills. "I don't want to argue with you," Lucky finally said, relenting. "I know you're not an invalid. I just thought that you probably didn't get much rest last night, so you might still be tired, and I didn't want you tired and behind the wheel of a car."

"I've been looking after myself for a long time now, and I certainly don't need a keeper. I'll be fine to drive myself home. LuLu, thank you for staying with me last night, and this morning. Dante, thank you for offering your support to Lucky with whatever you two were doing earlier." Having said that, she walked over to the elevator and jabbed at the button, causing it to open, and she stepped inside. She looked impatiently at the three of them when they didn't move. "We are leaving, yes?" "Right," Lucky responded. Dante muttered a whispered "woof" under his breath. They rode the elevator in silence to the main lobby. In the parking lot, Claire gave Dante and LuLu a tight, "Good morning to you both," coupled with a small inclining of her head toward them, and then she was climbing into her car, and pulling out of the lot. "Dude, what the hell?" Dante asked Lucky confusedly. "I don't know, man. Be sure I'm gonna find out, though."

Lucky arrived home shortly after Claire, but when he entered the apartment, she was already undressed, in her nightwear, and in bed. He sighed aloud. It didn't look like he was going to get any answers after all. He undressed as well, and wearily slid into bed. He thought he would fall asleep immediately, but his mind wouldn't allow him to rest, and he began tossing and turning. After the seventh turn, he frustratedly threw himself onto his back, throwing his arms on the pillow and resting his head in his hands. Claire sat up abruptly, turning on the bedside lamp. "Is there a reason you can't sleep?"

"Oh, yeah, there's a reason all right! I just don't know what it is! I thought you were already asleep."

"It's kind of difficult with all your tossing around."

"I'm sorry," he snapped. "I didn't mean to disturb you. I'll go sleep in Jake and Cam's room since they're not here." He moved to rise from the bed, but Claire grabbed his arm to stop him. "No, Lucky, stop. I'm sorry. I'm sorry," she said contritely. "I'm just tired and cranky. I'm sorry." Lucky sat up against the headboard, propping his pillows behind his back. "No, it's more than that. Whatever it is, can we please talk about it?" She looked away for a moment in silence. "Please, sweetheart. Something has upset you, and I want to talk it out. Is it Aiden? Because I can't be sorry that he's my son. I know it alters our plans a bit, but…" "No, it's not Aiden." She took a deep breath. "Elizabeth and I got into it again last night, or I guess it was this morning." Lucky's head dropped into his hand and he rubbed his brow tiredly, squeezing his eyes tightly shut. "I'm sorry. I don't know what gets into her sometimes, but you shouldn't have to deal with that. I'm gonna say something to her about it." "No, you don't have to do that—I think that, as usual, I came out on top in the verbal sparring category, but she said something that…" "That what? What did she say?" Claire sat cross-legged in the bed, facing him. "She said that you were on the rebound from her when we got together, and you didn't expect for me to get pregnant. And I thought about that for a while. She's not exactly wrong, is she? When we got together, you were still hurting from what she and Nikolas had done, and you sure weren't expecting me to end up pregnant. We were supposed to be a casual thing, remember? She also said that our situation had you 'stuck'. I know you're an honorable man, Lucky. But I neither want nor need you to be with me out of some kind of obligation just because I got pregnant. I can take care of myself, and I can take care of this baby on my own, if need be."

Lucky couldn't contain it, and he burst out laughing. "You find what I said amusing?" Claire asked, annoyed. "No, sweetie, I don't. I really don't," he gasped. "I think I must be punch drunk. And slightly relieved. Listen to me," he said, composing himself. "I wasn't looking for you when Elizabeth and I broke up. I didn't want you. I thought I would play around for a while, not take any woman seriously, because there was nothing but pain in that. Fast and loose was what I was looking for. So when we had dinner that first night, and when we had sex after, I thought, 'Cool. I can go with this for a while,' you know? But you did something to me, Claire. You weren't even trying to, but you did. You got under my skin. You got under my defenses. First it was talking to you, laughing with you, spending time with you. Then it was just being near you. Being **in** you. And one day I looked up and thought, 'Oh, God. I'm falling in love with her.' I didn't want that. I didn't want it, but I couldn't stop it, either. And then we found out that you were pregnant. So yeah, that changed things a bit, but only for the better. Suddenly, everything clicked, fell into place. This is what I was meant to have—you and our child. Do you know that this is the most uncomplicated adult relationship I've ever had? There's no drama, no addiction, no dependence clouding things. I'm just free to love you, and be loved by you. Baby, who cares how it happened? My heart is so gone for you. It's unreal, how much I love you. You're my choice, ok? You're the one I want. And as far as you leaving me, taking off somewhere and raising my kid on your own, Miss Independence? Just try it, and see what happens. I'd go to the ends of the earth to drag you back."

Claire had tears in her eyes by the time Lucky finished speaking. "I thought I knew that. I thought I knew how you felt, but I guess I let what she said get to me. I know better. I'm sorry. I love you, too. So much." She leaned toward him, and they shared a gentle kiss. "So, are we ok now?" he wondered. "I'm not sure—that depends. Where did you and Dante go this morning?" "Ooh," he said, dropping his head in his hands again. "I don't think I want to tell you. I don't think you'll approve."

"Now I really want to know."

"We went to pay Helena Cassadine a visit. I just wanted to get some info from her, and set her straight on a few things. I have to confess that I came"-he snapped his fingers—"this close to putting a bullet in her head. I wanted her dead. I still do." He finally looked at her.

"Are you waiting for me to condemn you, or something?"

"Maybe, a bit. I'm supposed to be the Boy Scout, remember? The 'two wrongs don't make a right' guy. I threatened her. I told her that if I ever saw her again, I would kill her. I meant it."

"Well, she stepped over the line, so she deserves whatever she gets, in my opinion. She's a threat to your family, so I totally get it. A man has a right to defend his family, however he has to do it. Ooh," she giggled, straddling his lap and gripping his head by his hair as she grinned at him, "I think I might be a bad influence on you. I think my 'fudge the lines' and 'the end justifies the means' attitudes might be rubbing off on you. I'm corrupting you. I like it."

"You like corrupting me, do you?" he asked, staring intently at her lips. "Well, while you're sitting there, why don't you corrupt me a little more?" "Why Detective Spencer," she whispered into his ear before bathing its outer ridge with her tongue wetly, "whatever did you have in mind?" That quickly, he was as hard as a rock. "Oh, God. Do whatever you want to do to me-" She took his mouth quickly in a deeply effective kiss, her hands still gripping his hair, her tongue invading purposefully, tangling with his. He moaned, then gulped as she broke the kiss to suck his neck strongly, hard enough to leave a love bite behind. "Uhh. Are you sure you're not too tired for this?" he panted. "Shut up and take it," she replied. "Yes, ma'am, not a problem." Claire nibbled and nipped her way down his chest, licking and suckling his nipples in turn. The lassitude Lucky felt was somehow adding to the sensations—he felt like he was floating upward and anchored down at the same time, and the nerve endings were tingling all over his body. He clutched the bed sheets and arched his back when her lips and teeth kissed and bit their way down his torso, marking his skin. She tongued his navel thoroughly before reaching for the waistband of his shorts. "Lift up," she ordered, removing them when he raised his hips from the bed. He was already beginning to leak from her ministrations and he cried out when she suddenly licked the head of his prick, tasting his essence, and then began fellating him, drawing deeply upon him, enclosing him in a firm grip. "Oh, yesss, baby, wow," he groaned, his head tilting back and his eyes closing tightly. One hand was still clutching the bed linens, the other was clutching her hair as he fell further under the spell of her talented mouth. He began breathing rapidly, grunting louder and louder as her head moved faster and faster. "Uhh, Claire, uhh, baby, ooh, hey, you might want to back offff—oh God! Ohhh, that's it!" he exclaimed, panting and coming violently, the cords of his neck stretched to their limits, the release a welcome relief. "Oh, sweetheart, wow," he sighed while his hips continued jerking and twitching as she suckled him soothingly. "Unhhh. Ohhhh. Whoa. Oh, God, thank you, sweetie. That was awesome. Ooh. Oh. Not to be blunt or anything," he said, wheezing slightly, "but you don't usually swallow." "Ah. You have to shake things up every now and then and be spontaneous," she laughed, crawling back up to his side. He kissed her gently, repeatedly on the lips. "Umm. Do you want me to…"

"No—that was just for you. I'm good."

"I think we all can sleep now," he said, pulling her down into the bed with him, dropping a kiss on her belly and tugging the blankets over their exhausted bodies. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Within minutes, they were both dead to the world.

Lucky was sitting at his desk in the squad room, eating a corned beef sandwich for lunch. He was looking at car brochures, flipping pages intermittently as he munched contentedly. Dante walked up and looked over his shoulder. "You looking for a new car? Your Camaro isn't even that old, man." He sat down across from Lucky after pouring himself a fresh cup of coffee.

"Yeah, I know. It pains me to say it, but I think I might have to let my Camaro go. Somehow, I don't think cramming three baby seats in the back of my car will go over very well with Cam."

"I still can't believe that you are about to be the father of four."

"I know, man. It's crazy, right? I went from having two sons to building a dynasty! But I'm looking at it this way—some people have triplets or quadruplets, even quintuplets, and they manage to make it work. Between the three of us, plus our families, we should be able to do as well."

"Did you ever find out what was wrong with Claire this morning?"

"Yeah. Elizabeth said some stuff that she shouldn't have been saying to her—kind of harassing her. Had her mind working overtime. We got it all straightened out later on."

"Speaking of families, what did your dad say when you told him about all this?"

"Are you kidding? I haven't told him yet. When I told him that Claire was pregnant, I thought he had a heart attack on the phone, he was quiet for so long. My mom was excited, though. She said she was thinking about coming back home in time for the birth, but I don't see that happening. She won't want to upset Nikolas by showing favoritism. She's gonna freak when I give her the latest. Hell, I'm still freaking out. I've nowhere near processed the fact that Aiden is my son, or how it's gonna change things."

"So, you're rethinking the getting back with Elizabeth angle?"

"No, I don't mean change things like that. I mean a new car, a different house, readjusting our plans. Claire's and my plans. No, I'm still committed to Claire." Lucky's cell phone rang, and he looked at the caller ID. "Speaking of," he said before he answered the call. "Hey, sweetie, what's up?" Claire smiled when she heard his voice. "How are you feeling after yesterday? Have you recovered yet?"

"Physically, I feel great. I slept very well this morning, thanks to you and your magic mouth…"

"Hey," Dante interjected loudly enough for Claire to hear, "TMI, ok? Geesh."

"Why do you ask?"

"I was just calling to check up on you. Have you heard from Elizabeth yet?"

"Yeah. They're releasing her tonight, so I'm heading back to the hospital after shift change. You know I'll probably be a while, because she thinks we have 'things to discuss,' and I guess we do. I'm not exactly sure when I'll be home."

"That's fine. I plan on working late tonight anyway."

"Not too late, I hope."

"No. But I think I might have found a connection between John Zacchara and Sebastian and Pilar Ordoñez after all, and I want to follow up on it."

"Claire," Lucky said warningly.

"Lucky, we've already had this discussion, so we don't need to have it again."

"Oh, we're gonna have it again, just not right now. Just watch yourself, ok? And please be home when I get there—don't stay out all night?" Claire chuckled aloud. "You're such a mother hen. I'll be fine. I love you." He shook his head at her description of his concern. "I love you, too, sweetie. I'll talk to you later, ok?" He caught Dante's eye as he ended the call. "Not one word, man," he said in response to Dante's smirk.

The "Baby And Me" store was jam packed with feverishly shopping parents when Lucky stopped in to buy a car seat before journeying to the hospital to pick up Elizabeth and Aiden. "I can't believe," he thought, "that in a few months' time, I'm gonna be right back here buying another car seat." At first, he thought to buy two at once to save time, but he didn't want to tempt fate. "When we need it is when we'll get it." He left the store after making his purchase, and then he headed for the hospital. He found a place to park in the parking lot, and then he went inside, making the increasingly familiar elevator ride to the fourth floor. He still had six months ahead of him of dealing with this place, six short months until Claire was due to deliver. His mind boggled as he thought of what having four young children was actually going to mean to his life. He laughed out loud. "I guess it's like they say—'go big, or go home.'" He exited the elevator and walked to Elizabeth's room, pausing at the door when he heard laughter coming from within. He knocked on the door, and then entered. Elizabeth's brother, Steve was holding Aiden while Elizabeth finished packing up everything she and Nikolas had brought with them to the hospital. "I still say," Steve was saying, "that it looks like you were preparing for World War Three. Why did you bring so much stuff with you?" "Well, you never know," she replied, laughter in her voice. "It's so much better to be prepared for all contingencies." Both she and Steve acknowledged Lucky at the same time with 'hello' waves. "Are you ready to go? Am I still taking you, or are you riding with Steve?" Lucky asked. Steve answered, "She's going with you—I'm on duty tonight. I have a couple of doctors whose work I want to observe, so I'm pulling an overnight. Lucky, I wanted to tell you 'congratulations.' I know the circumstances are a bit strange, but all the same…"

"Thanks, Steve, I appreciate that. I haven't wrapped my head around it yet."

"Well, I'm here for you both, so whatever you need, just let me know." A nurse arrived with a wheelchair. "Milady," Steve intoned, "your chariot awaits. I'll come by later to check on you, ok Lizzie? Make sure everything's going smoothly." "Thanks, Steve," she replied gratefully. Steve handed Aiden to Elizabeth after she sat down in the wheelchair. He and Lucky picked up the bags, bundles, flowers and gifts and they made their way into the elevator, and down to the main lobby. "Steve," Lucky asked, "could you wait here with Elizabeth while I go bring the car around?" "Yeah, of course." Lucky expertly adjusted the baby seat in the back of his car, and then held Aiden while Elizabeth climbed in. Once she was seated, she reached for the baby, and placed him into the car seat. Lucky opened the trunk, depositing everything she was bringing home with her into it before getting into the driver's seat. Elizabeth got a kiss and a wave from her brother, and then they were off.

It took a while to get everything settled—between getting into the house and calming the boys down, Elizabeth's home was chaotic for a couple of hours. Cam and Jake were excited because not only were their mother and their new brother home, but their Daddy was home, too. They 'oohed' and 'ahhed' over the new arrival for a time, eventually losing interest when they realized that he couldn't yet get down on the floor and play with them. Audrey, Elizabeth's grandmother, had been watching Cam and Jake, but now that Elizabeth and Lucky were there, she was ready to go back home, so she made plans to call a cab service. Lucky insisted on taking her home himself, however, so after hugs and kisses from her granddaughter and her great-grandsons, Lucky helped her out to the car. "God," he thought to himself as he settled her into the front seat, "she's so frail. Add 'alternative child care' to the growing list of things we need." When he returned to the house, Elizabeth was trying unsuccessfully to get the boys down for bed. "I'll take care of this, Elizabeth," Lucky told her. "You go ahead and go back downstairs with Aiden." He read the boys two stories at Cam's insistence, and then he tucked them into bed, giving each a kiss on the forehead. "Good night, guys. Sleep well. And no getting up to play, ok? It's time for bed." He turned on their nightlight, and then made his way downstairs. Elizabeth was breastfeeding Aiden when he returned to the living room, and he froze. He scratched his head as he wondered how to proceed. Finally he said, "Ok. I totally know that this is the most natural thing in the world, but I'm a bit uncomfortable right now. Could you use a blanket and, I don't know, kind of cover up?" Elizabeth laughed at his discomfort. "It's nothing you haven't seen a thousand times before, Lucky."

"Yeah, you're right, but the circumstances are different now. Seriously, could you?"

She arranged one of Aiden's baby blankets over her shoulder, making a tent over him, covering herself. He sat down next to her on the couch. She shook her head, saying, "When did you become such a prude?" "It's not about being a prude," he responded, "it's about respect. It's about boundaries. Which reminds me. Do me a favor? Don't approach Claire anymore with bullcrap about our changing relationships, ok? It's unnecessary, and I don't want you upsetting her." Elizabeth removed the baby from her breast, lifting him to her shoulder and rubbing and patting his back gently. Once again, Lucky looked away to give her a semblance of privacy. She wrapped Aiden in his blanket and put him in the little bassinet that she and Nikolas bought for him, then sat back down on the couch, readjusting her nursing bra and blouse. Lucky was beginning to get the impression that she was trying to make him uncomfortable on purpose, so he decided not to feed into it. She looked at him. "Are you trying to tell me that I upset your precious Claire? Because she certainly didn't appear upset to me when she verbally vomited all over me." "Very interesting visual," he responded. "I'm not saying she was upset, but she mentioned it to me, and I'm telling you that I don't want you doing it anymore. It's pointless, Elizabeth. What are you hoping to accomplish? She's in my life. She's having my child. She's not going anywhere."

"And what about us, Lucky? You and I have three boys together now—we're your family, not Claire. Where do we fit in, or are you just dropping us now that you have her?" Lucky stared at her incredulously, shaking his head. "Wait a minute, wait a minute—time out. Are you freaking serious right now? You have to be one of the biggest revisionists I've ever met!" he whispered furiously, remembering at the last moment the sleeping Aiden. He went on, "We were engaged to be married, remember? You broke us up by sleeping with my brother! Did you conveniently forget that? Don't make it sound like I'm the one who's abandoning my family! I told you, I'll always be there for Cam and Jake. And now there's Aiden. I have no intentions of walking away from my family—**they** are my family. But you and I? That's not in the cards, Elizabeth. We're not walking that road again."

"I still love you, Lucky. I still want you. Tell me you don't still love me. I dare you to."

He got up from the couch and began pacing the room. "You know," he ultimately said, "you're right. I do still love you. I will probably always love you. You were first in my heart, a long time ago. I chose you. When I told you that you had my heart, I meant that to be forever."

"Well, then why…"

He interrupted her. "Let me finish. We don't know how to be a functional couple. All the infidelities, all the foolishness, have taken their tolls. Do you really envision a lifetime of these false starts—getting together, breaking apart, and doing it all over again? I don't. I don't want that for myself. You shouldn't want it, either. We both deserve more than that. I will always love you, Elizabeth. But I'm not in love with you. You are the mother of my sons. I will always want good things for you. I'll always want you to be safe and happy and even loved. But not by me. Not that way. Not anymore."

"But if you could just give us another chance, it would be different this time, Lucky, I know it would! It would be better! We'd make it better! We still love each other, and we can start there. We can start small, and rebuild our lives! You, me, and our three boys. Why can't you give us another chance?"

"You act like this is only the first or second time we've been here. We're the same people we were before all this happened. Don't you get that? Ok, so Aiden turned out to be my son, but why was there any doubt about his paternity in the first place? Do you see where I'm going with this? We're no good for each other, Elizabeth. That's the end of it. I'm going to see my lawyer to see if we can get the custody arrangement amended to include Aiden. I'm going to do the best I can to be a good father to all of my children. But my heart is with Claire now. My life is with her. I love her, and I'm **in** love with her."

"So I guess you're still going to build the sweet little house in the woods for her, huh? Make a life with **her** and **her** child?"

"Actually, no, I'm not. I changed my mind about that and retracted the offer. Now that Aiden is in the picture, we'll need a house much sooner than the three to five months it would take to have one built. I've seen a couple of homes that I've contacted a realtor about viewing, and Claire and I, I hope, will go look at them tomorrow. I never wanted to hurt you, Elizabeth. I know I have in the past, and I know I'm doing it now. I'm sorry about that. But what is, is. In the weeks to come, we'll have to figure out how we're going to share custody of the boys. I won't be able to have Aiden over right away because I just don't have the room, but if we like one of these houses and can close quickly on it, that will change real soon." He walked over to the bassinet, reaching down and softly stroking Aiden's head with his finger. "It's getting late, and Claire's waiting for me at home." He looked at her face, the tears in her eyes, the angry set of her mouth. "I really am sorry, Elizabeth."

"Whatever, Lucky. Just go," she said tiredly, defeatedly. "Just go." He walked over to the front door, and after taking one last perusal of the room, he left, gently closing the door behind him.

Lucky had to make one more stop before returning home to Claire. He drove out to the docks and when he got there, he noted with faint pleasure the empty spot where Helena's yacht had been moored. "I swear on the life of my newborn son," he whispered into the night air, "that if you ever cross my path again, you won't live long enough to regret it."


	10. Chapter 10

Lucky and Claire stood back in the middle of the yard, looking with wonder and fear at their new split-level home. It took almost a month to close on the house but the previous owner was in a hurry to get out from under the loan, and that ended up working in their favor. They had just come from the realtor's office to receive the keys. "This is a lot of house," Claire whispered. "Are we sure we're doing the right thing?" "Well, it's too late now," Lucky replied, "because it's all ours, lock, stock and mortgage. It's a beautiful home, though, and I know it's a bit larger than we originally talked about, but when I saw this yard, I knew we had to have it. The boys are going to be very happy here. Plenty of room for them to run and play. And I liked the fifth room option that could either be a bedroom or an office. Don't you think you'll like being able to work from home sometimes?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong—I love this house! I love everything about it, except maybe the mortgage. And I know that we all will be very happy here. I especially like the room we chose for the nursery. But wow, Lucky! The mortgage!"

"I don't want you to worry about that. Between the two of us, we can swing it on our salaries. The market is perfect right now, because there's no way we would have been able to afford so much 'house' otherwise." They took in the manicured lawn, the exterior beauty of the white home with the red brick trim. "Are you ready to go in?"

"Yeah, let's go." Arm in arm, they walked into their new home, and into another part of their future.

"Claire? Sweetie, what are you doing? What's taking so long?" Lucky yelled up the stairs to her. He had just finished placing the breakfast he cooked for them on the dining table. When he didn't get a reply, he went to investigate, finding her looking frustratedly into a full-length mirror. "What are you doing? What's wrong?" "I can't get these pants to fasten, that's what's wrong," she replied in a disgusted voice. Lucky smiled as he approached her, coming up behind her and putting his arms around her, hugging her closely. His hands cupped her belly as he tucked his chin into the bend of her neck. They stared at the picture they made in the mirror. "Sweetie, you know I love you, right?" he inquired. "Yes," she replied, a question in her voice. "So you know that I say this with all the love I have for you… You're fat." "Lucky! You're not supposed to say that to me," she exclaimed, laughing. "What if you hurt my feelings or something?"

"What I mean is, when are you going to break down and admit that you need maternity clothes? Your old clothes no longer fit, and I don't want you 'smushing' my kid to prove a point."

She moved from his arms to sit on the bed, sighing. "I know you're right. Of course you're right. But I'm afraid I'm going to end up looking like a frump! Have you seen some of the clothes they have for pregnant women? I'm a professional woman! I can't look like a frump!"

"Seriously? That's your dilemma?" He reached into his pocket for his cell phone and called his sister. "LuLu? Hey, it's Lucky. No, everything's fine here—how are you? Good, good. Listen. How would you feel about going on a mission of mercy for me; it would really help me out. I need you to take Claire shopping for maternity clothes. I figure with your fashion sense, she couldn't go wrong, and she's afraid she's gonna end up looking like a frump-" Claire grabbed the phone out of Lucky's hand, giving him an annoyed scowl. "Look, LuLu, your brother is just kidding… You wouldn't mind? Well, I wouldn't mind having a second opinion, and it's not that I'm fashion-challenged… This afternoon? That would be wonderful. I look forward to it. Thank you." Claire hung up the phone, shaking her head as she took in his pleased expression. "I can't believe you did that," she moaned, falling back onto the bed and covering her face with a pillow. "She's going to think that I'm an utter doof who can't pick out her own clothes!"

"Look, she's in the fashion world, and she has a good eye, so she's the logical person to ask. You had a problem; I had a solution. It'll be fun. Now can we eat our breakfast?" She finally looked at him, her eyebrow raised. "I hate shopping."

When LuLu arrived at the house to pick Claire up for their outing, she wasn't alone. Maxie and Maya emerged from the car as well, giving admiring and appreciative glances to their surroundings. Lucky and Claire walked out onto the front porch to greet them, and Claire quickly realized that her shopping trip was turning into a "girls day out." She clutched Lucky's arm in mock terror. "Don't abandon me! I'm not good at 'girly'! This is going to be a disaster." Lucky pushed her forward toward the waiting women pitilessly. "You'll be fine—it'll be fun," he repeated, whispering. Aloud, he said, "Good afternoon, ladies." Maxie said, "Hey, Lucky. I figured that LuLu could use some help; even she doesn't always make the right fashion choices." Maya added, "I'm just here for moral support for Claire, to balance out these two. I love the new house—it's beautiful!" "Thank you," he replied. "Are you both coming back for the housewarming party tonight?" "Wouldn't miss it," Maxie grinned. "Any excuse to party… And you did say it was ok for me to bring Matt Hunter?"

"Sure. The more, the merrier. Thanks again for doing this, you guys. Just do me a favor? Don't let her end up looking like a frump!" They all laughed, and LuLu walked up the steps, intertwining her arm with Claire's. "Come on, Claire. It'll be painless, I promise." They were moving down the steps when Claire tossed over her shoulder, "You're going to pay for this! I'm going to smother you in your sleep!" "I'm not worried," Lucky returned, chuckling, "because you'd miss me too much."

The sun was just setting when Claire and the 'girls' arrived home, several shopping bags in tow. The house was ablaze in light, and the housewarming party was in full swing. Quite a few of the residents of Port Charles turned out to help celebrate Claire and Lucky's good fortune in finding the perfect home, and they were wandering all over the house and spilling out onto the lawn. Lucky followed Claire up the stairs as she rushed to change her clothes into something more suitable for a party. "Show me whatcha got," he demanded. "I don't have time," she hissed as she began unbuttoning her blouse. "I didn't realize that we were running so late! How long has everyone been here?"

"Not long, almost an hour. Don't worry about it—it's not a formal occasion. Everybody's just here to have a good time." He watched as she settled on a simple black sheath that fell slightly below her knees before sliding her feet into a pair of black and silver pumps. "What do you think?" she asked him, shaking and tossing her hair back into place. He approached her slowly, twirling his finger. She turned around for him, finally striking a model's pose. "If we were alone, I'd show you what I really think, but for now, I'll say you look stunning. Edible. Are you ready to greet your guests?" "As ready as I'll ever be," she said. Arm in arm, they descended the staircase.

While the men gathered on the back deck, some swilling brandy and scotch and puffing on the Cuban cigars that Luke generously proffered for the occasion, the women were admiring the furnishings in the kitchen, the master bedroom, and especially the nursery. Elizabeth had been surprised when she received an invitation from Lucky to attend the party. Surprised and suspicious. "Are you trying to rub my nose in your 'happily ever after' with Claire?" she inquired sarcastically. "Because I got the message, Lucky, loud and clear, ok?" "No, of course not, Elizabeth," he had replied. "I just wanted you to see where the boys will be staying when they're with us. I wanted you to have an idea of their surroundings when they're here so that you can be comfortable and confident that they're safe when we have them. I know we moved farther out of town than we'd originally intended, and I was hoping to put your mind at ease—that's all." She replayed the conversation in her head as she excused herself from the other women, going out onto the front porch to sit on the swinging bench anchored there. Momentarily, Claire followed her out. "Elizabeth, could we talk?" She shook her head as she returned Claire's stare. "I'm really not up for one of our sniping sessions-" she began to say, when Claire interrupted. "Exactly. Neither am I. Look," she added as she joined Elizabeth on the bench. "Somehow, we have to come to a meeting of the minds. Contrary to what you might think, I'm really not enjoying this animosity between us. You're a mother, and I'm going to be one soon. Our children are going to be siblings. I know that you resent the fact that Lucky and I are together, but that isn't going to change. I was hoping that for his sake, for our children's sakes, for our sakes, we could end the hostilities and try to get along. I'm not expecting us to become best friends, but I was hoping that we could at least peacefully coexist."

Elizabeth looked off into the distance, nodding her head slowly in agreement. "I think that's a good idea, Claire. I'm willing to try if you are," she added, sighing a little.

"I'm glad," Claire said. "Thank you."

Lucky opened the front door, coming out onto the porch, looking enquiringly at them. "Everything ok out here?"

"Yes," Claire answered, rising to her feet. "Everything is fine. Elizabeth and I have just brokered a truce."

Lucky's eyes glanced first to Claire, then to Elizabeth before he said, "Good. That's good. That's great news." Some of the partygoers began preparing to go home, so Claire walked back into the house to thank them for coming and to say goodnight, leaving Lucky and Elizabeth alone on the porch swing. They sat in silence for a while, gently swaying back and forth on the swing. Finally, Elizabeth spoke. "It's a beautiful house, Lucky. A beautiful home. I think the boys are going to be very happy whenever they're here. You've really done well for yourself."

Lucky smiled in her direction. "Thanks. When I first saw it, I knew it was special, but it was the yard that sold me. We're still debating whether or not to fence off the property, but there's so much room for the boys to dream and play. They're already in love with the spaciousness of it."

"Speaking of dreams… This was supposed to be **our** dream house. A home in the country, away from the noise and bustle of the city. Someplace where we could raise our boys. And you were able to make the dream happen, just not with me. I was angry with you for being with Claire and because you stayed with her after we found out about Aiden, but the truth is, I'm to blame for all of this. I ruined everything. I have so many regrets, Lucky. I'm sorry that I detonated our lives the way I did."

"We both made mistakes, Elizabeth, you know? I know I hurt you, too. From the moment I found you all those years ago in the snow, I thought it would be my mission in life to make sure nothing ever hurt you again, and then I ended up hurting you the most of all. I'm sorry about that. We made promises to each other when we were teenagers, promises it turns out that we couldn't keep. I'll always regret that. I'll always regret aspects of our past, but I'll never regret **us**. For a while, we were great together, and we had something wonderful. We got three amazing boys out of the deal. I'd like to think we could still be friends, and co-parent our boys with respect for one another. At this point, that's probably the greatest gift we could give to them, and to each other." They looked at each other with a new understanding, and the knots of anger and resentment began loosening around both of their hearts.

"I guess I'm one of the last guests to leave," she noticed suddenly. "I should get back home to the boys."

He walked her to her car. "So I'll come by this weekend and pick them up, ok?"

"Yes, that'll be fine. I'll have them ready. Thanks again for inviting me. I'm glad we got a chance to talk."

"Thank you for coming. I think it's good that we talked, too. Safe drive home, now." Claire made her way across the lawn as he watched Elizabeth pull out of the driveway. She slid her arms around his waist, hugging him gently. "Everything ok with you two?" she asked him. "Everything's great," he replied, returning her hug. "Better than it's been in a long time."

Lucky leaned in the doorframe of Claire's home office, gazing at her in contemplation. "Are you working from home today?" he asked. "Yeah. I thought I would try it out," she replied, looking up from her laptop to catch his eye.

"What do you think of the office?"

"I'm enjoying the convenience of it, and you can't beat the fact that we can easily get to the nursery from here." They smiled at each other almost guiltily, unbearably pleased with themselves. He entered the room and sat down in the chair across from her desk. "What are you working on now?" he wondered.

"I got a call from a friend of mine in the Buffalo branch of the FBI—Geoff Jorgensen. Guess who has been seen for the last five weekends at the Soho Grand Hotel? None other than Pilar Ordoñez and John Zacchara. Now I don't know if they were there to talk business or to get busy, but I suppose they thought that if they went far enough away from Port Charles, no one would be monitoring their movements. I knew they were connected somehow." Claire could see Lucky tensing up and trying not to be obvious about it as she spoke about this new development in the case. "Ok, Lucky, don't start. We said we would work together to bring these people to justice, remember?"

"I remember you saying that. I was never fully on board with that. I think now that the Feds are more involved, we should just let them handle everything."

She looked at him for a moment before shaking her head. "You are such a liar!"

"What?" he demanded, laughing.

"I know for a fact that your investigation into the Colombian cartel is ongoing, and you haven't given up on tying them to the firebombing of Sonny Corinthos' warehouse, have you? But you still think the Feds should 'handle' everything, huh?"

"Well, the case has to remain open because we haven't solved it yet, and it's my case—well, Dante's and my case—so naturally, we're still exploring all the angles. That's the only reason I've remained involved."

"Uh huh," she replied, one eyebrow raised in skepticism. Lucky was still laughing when he rose from the chair and started walking out of her office. "This might be my last case with the Special Prosecutors' office in Washington, so I want to make it a solid one." He froze in the doorway when he realized what she had said, turning back to face her.

"What do you mean, your last case? Where is this coming from? Have you finally had that conversation with your bosses?"

"Not yet, but this is what I'm thinking. We're having a child together. Our child will most likely be born and raised right here in Port Charles. I'm not going to be able to commute back and forth between here and our offices in Washington DC, and I don't think you're going to be ok with Spencer Jr. and me living down there, and coming up here on the weekends, are you?"

"No, you got that right," he responded.

"So this is my solution, or at least one solution. What would you think if I got a job with the District Attorney's office here in Port Charles?"

He regarded her, a frown on his face. "I'd think that you would be taking a step backwards, career-wise." He sighed aloud as he thought of what she would be giving up. "I knew that this was going to impact your career, but I guess I just pushed to the back of my mind how badly. I don't know, Claire. You worked awfully hard to get to where you are. Have you really thought this through?"

"I have," she said thoughtfully. "And it will be a huge change, but a very wise man once told me that when we're older, we would look back and our professional accomplishments wouldn't matter nearly as much to us as how much we loved our children, and how much we invested in their lives. The relationships we had with the people we loved. I'm taking all that to heart." He walked back to her, enfolding her in his arms. "A very wise man, huh? Does this wise man have a name?"

She brushed a soft kiss on his lips. "Well, sometimes I call him 'baby,' or 'my love,' and secretly when he can't hear, sometimes I call him 'Snookie.'" She chortled aloud at the incredulous look he gave her.

"Snookie? Snookie? I don't think I'm gonna go for you calling me 'Snookie'!"

"You don't want me to call you 'Snookie'?" she asked, pretending to pout.

"I'm just teasing you. As long as I know you love me, you can call me anything you want," he joked before deepening the embrace, and kissing her soundly.

While Claire and Lucky were temporarily wrapped in each other's arms, John Zacchara and Ethan Lovett were on the other side of town, taking a meeting with Sebastian Ordoñez. Now that he was openly seeing Pilar, Johnny felt emboldened to make his connection to the Ordoñez Family more apparent. Ethan and Antonio, Sebastian's main bodyguard, were reclining on lounge chairs while Esteban, Sebastian's enforcer stood on guard nearby watching the two men as they spoke. Johnny and Sebastian were sitting on the patio terrace of Sebastian's palatial home, enjoying the morning sun when Sebastian turned his golden-brown gaze to his. "So," he stated, "you have been spending a great deal of time with my sister. To what end? Is this to become a more permanent arrangement?"

"Are you askin' me what my intentions are toward your sister?" he queried. "'Cause as far as I know, we're just keepin' things casual, havin' a good time."

"My sister is not a 'good time girl,' Señor Zacchara," Sebastian retorted arrogantly.

"Please, call me Johnny," he requested.

"I think not," he was told. "If your intentions toward her are less than honorable, might I suggest strongly that you end your current association?"

"I think that's up to me and Pilar, you know?"

"Is that your polite way of admonishing me to mind my own affairs? Because you should be aware that Pilar's happiness is of great concern to me. I will not see her harmed in any way by your perfidy."

"Look, when we became business partners, I expected a bit more leeway, but you're still treatin' me like a servant or somethin'."

"Partners? You misunderstand our relationship, Señor Zacchara. I have no partner other than my sister. You are now at my side strictly as a concession to her."

"I thought our partnership began when you torched Sonny Corinthos's warehouse for me."

"The firebombing of the Corinthos warehouse was not accomplished as a gesture toward you—the fact that you were gratified by the occurrence is incidental. It was done to deliver a message to the Corinthos organization, and to discover how easily we can function in this city without reprisals. Despite the dismantling of your father's empire, you had contacts in New York and along the eastern seaboard that I wished to appropriate. I have done so. Your usefulness to me, therefore, is at an end. My sister, however, has developed a deep fondness for you—it is the depth of your devotion to her that is in question."

"Whatever relationship we have is our business, and none of yours," Johnny replied heatedly. "I'm not gonna be bullied into doin' anything I don't wanna do. I saw my sister in a business marriage, a marriage that was more contract than anything else. There certainly wasn't any love involved. Ended up costin' her her life. I ain't goin' out like that, not even for Pilar."

"Which is why I reiterate: end your association with my sister before it progresses any further."

Johnny jumped suddenly to his feet, causing both Ethan and Antonio to rise quickly to their feet as well. "Look here, you bastard! You might be a big noise down in Colombia, but you're in New York now! I gave you access to my shippin' lanes, my contacts in Customs and up and down the coast. What do I get in return? Attitude and demands, that's what!"

"You are becoming tedious, Señor Zacchara, and borderline obnoxious. Please retake your seat."

"I don't think so! I invited you and your organization to Port Charles as a courtesy, and you need to show me some respect! I thought we could do some business together and you could get rid of Sonny Corinthos for me in exchange for what I brought to the table! You haven't even managed to do that much! So far, I'm doin' all the givin' and you're doin' all the takin'! If we ain't partners, then I don't need to be here puttin' up with this crap! This is ridiculous!" He angrily began striding away from the patio toward the main house.

"Señor Zacchara, what about my sister?"

Johnny whirled around to face Sebastian, his fury out of control. "Screw your sister! I told you, we were only havin' a good time anyway!" As he turned again to leave, he suddenly felt two sharp pains in his back and right side, and then he felt nothing more.

Sebastian shook his head in disgust at the two bloodied bodies at his feet before raising his eyes to Esteban and Antonio. "How regrettable. Remove their identifications. There is an old abandoned paper mill by the wharf on the outskirts of the city. Take them there. Dispose of them."

Antonio and Esteban unceremoniously dumped Johnny and Ethan's seemingly lifeless bodies into the back of a black Cadillac Escalade and drove off to the paper mill to obey Sebastian's bidding. When they arrived at the mill, they looked around furtively before dragging Johnny and Ethan over to the water's edge and throwing them off of the wharf. Again briefly checking their surroundings, they were satisfied that they had not been seen, and they drove away. If it weren't for the terrified teenaged couple hidden around the corner of the millhouse whose make-out session had been interrupted by the bodies hitting the water, those might very well have been Johnny's and Ethan's last moments on Earth.

Lucky and Dante were returning to the PCPD after taking statements from a couple involved in a violent domestic dispute when Mac met them in the station lobby. "Don't settle in, you two. We got a report of two bodies being dumped down by the old abandoned mill on Perry Street. A couple of kids called it in, so I don't know if it's a hoax or not, but they sounded pretty shaken up about it. We got a couple of ambulances in route just in case, but it doesn't sound good for whoever they are, or were." They walked back to the parking lot, and got into Dante's car. "What is it, man?" asked Lucky, looking around. "Is it a full moon tonight, or something?"

"Something like that. You think this is another domestic gone wrong, or is it Mob-related? Wanna make it interesting?"

"Nah, too easy. Two dumped bodies? Gotta be Mob-related. But fifty bucks says that they end up being two of the missing guards from Sonny's torched warehouse."

"You're on."

They arrived on the scene just as the EMTs were loading the bodies on gurneys. Lucky jumped out of the car before it came to a complete stop. "Hey! What are you guys doing? You're disturbing the bodies before we've had a chance to investigate! Don't you know better than that?"

"They're not dead yet, Detective Spencer, but they will be if we don't move fast," he was told.

"Oh, ok. Sorry. You got any I.D.s for these guys? Are they conscious? Did they say anything?"

"No, but one of them kind of looks like Johnny Zacchara. Whoever he is, he's in critical condition." Lucky's entire body went cold. Two bodies. Dumped. One looking like John Zacchara.

"Wait, guys! Let me see the other guy! Hang on."

Dante grabbed his arm before he could approach the other gurney. "Wait, Lucky. If it is Ethan…"

"I owe this to my brother and to my father," he told Dante in a slight daze. "I need to be sure."

"We really need to get going, Detective," the EMTs reminded him.

"One second," he responded. He walked up to the gurney and looked down into the face of his younger brother. "Ethan," he whispered to the unconscious Ethan, tears forming in his eyes. "What the hell did you get yourself into? I'm riding with him to the hospital."

"Not a problem, but we need to go now."

Dante stayed on site to work the scene while both ambulances were loaded with the dying men, and then sirens screaming, they sped toward General Hospital.

Pilar became hysterical when Sebastian informed her of what had transpired between himself and John Zacchara that afternoon. "Bas! How could you do such a thing? Where is he? I want to see him! I was falling in love with him! You did not have to end his life! How could you do this to me?"

"An infatuation only, sister. Calm yourself. Now. This man was a means to an end, and he served his purpose. He disrespected you, which disrespects me. I do not tolerate insolence from anyone—you are aware of that. Now, we have much to do, and there is no time like the present to put our plans into motion. I am going to deal with Michael Corinthos, Jr. Do you accompany me, or do you remain behind and mourn that pointless dog?"

"I am with you, Bas. Always." He reached for her hand, and she clutched his back, smiling at him faintly through her drying tears.

Sonny was sitting at his desk in his study, pouring over manifests of incoming shipments, sipping brandy. He heard a commotion outside his study door, and he rose to his feet, reaching for the gun that he kept in a nearby drawer. "Please, Señor Corinthos," he was told, "do not trouble yourself. It is much too late for such defense. Do reseat yourself. I am Joaquin Sebastian Ordoñez. This is my sister, Pilar. We are pleased to make your acquaintance at long last."

"I know who you are. You're the freaks who torched my warehouse. What do you want? How the hell did you get onto my property? What did you do with my men?"

"There is no need for this rudeness, Señor Corinthos. The Giambetti brothers are being temporarily detained, and are unharmed. Whether or not they remain in this condition depends largely upon you. We have a business proposition to put before you. You may have heard that we have appropriated all the Zacchara shipping lanes in order to move our product safely up and down the coast. In order to do business effectively, however, we need access to all the shipping lanes and Customs officials that you currently hold, as well." Sebastian gestured toward the paperwork Sonny had been perusing. "You need not trouble yourself any longer with such things. I am here to relieve you of this onerous burden."

Sonny laughed derisively at Sebastian and Pilar. "You've gotta be freakin' kiddin' me. Do you really know who I am? 'Cause if you do, then you know that I don't give up what's mine. And I end anyone who tries to take it."

Sebastian regarded Sonny with a faint smile on his face before stating, "Señor Corinthos. Look around you. You are here. We are here. You have no protection. From the instant we entered your property, your continued existence depended upon our good will. Now we come in good faith, to make a proper exchange. We will appropriate your shipping lanes, your contacts in Customs, and your import/export houses."

"Let's just say that, hypothetically, I gave you these things. How much are they worth to you?"

"How much is your **life** worth to **you**? Please understand. We have a certain amount of respect for your business acumen, for your longevity. We are offering you an opportunity to continue living in exchange for your shipping lanes, etc. You wondered if we were aware of who you are. You should be aware of who we are. We are not wanton killers; we are businessmen and women. We dispatch only when we deem necessary—to instill discipline or to remove obstacles. We truly do not wish to end your existence, but we will acquire what we arrived in Port Charles to acquire."

"Which is what?"

"A wider network. A broader base of operations. Eventual expansion into Canada, and other parts of the United States."

"And with me gone, how do you think you're gonna have that? As soon as I'm gone, someone from one of the Five Families will rise up to take my place. Hell, even Johnny Zacchara will be gunnin' for his cut! You don't know how this town works. You don't even have a clue."

"I'm afraid, Señor Corinthos, that it is you who do not 'have a clue.'" Sebastian consulted his watch. "Our presence in this city is greater than you might think. Some might even call it 'insidious.' We are everywhere. In approximately one hour, the acting heads of the 'Five Families' as you term them, will be no more, much like Señor Zacchara. Ah," he remarked at the look of shock on Sonny's face, "I did not realize you were unaware of Señor Zacchara's untimely end."

"I thought Johnny was a business associate of yours. A partner."

"We have no partners save one another. He was necessary for a time, but he outlived his usefulness. Normally, the dispatching of the leaders of such powerful organizations could quite possibly create a vacuum of power, but the North Coast Cartel is a well functioning organization. Our people are already in place. We anticipate no difficulties concerning the shift in power. Now. Out of respect for the Corinthos name, and our admiration for the way you conducted your business affairs, we are offering you an opportunity to retire gracefully. Go to your island and live the rest of your days in comfort. Or to your holdings in Puerto Rico. Both locations are prime choices. Or meet the same fate as Señor Zacchara and the leaders of the 'Five Families.' These are the options available to you."

"You cut down one of your own because he outlived his usefulness? You have no honor. And when Jason Morgan gets out of prison? How long do you think you'll still be runnin' this town? You really think you're gonna get away with all this?"

"Whether or not we 'get away' with our plans is not your concern. How amusing that you should speak of honor or the lack thereof to us. Are you not the very man who shot his unarmed son in the name of betrayal? We give a great deal of honor to those we highly esteem. And is Jason Morgan mighty enough to engage the whole of the North Coast Cartel in warfare? I think not. As of now, he remains alive in Pentonville Prison at our discretion. We can strike at any time, from anywhere. Words of wisdom to consider, Señor Corinthos. The clock is ticking."

"How much time do I have?"

"To live, or to pack?"


	11. Chapter 11

The doctors and nurses on duty were working feverishly to save Ethan and Johnny when Lucky pulled Steve aside. "Have you officially admitted Johnny and Ethan yet?"

"No, we were too concerned with getting their conditions to stabilize. Why?"

"I don't want you to enter them into the system yet, or if you do, I want them given aliases. No doubt whoever did this will try again if they realize that they didn't succeed the first time."

"I think we can manage that," Steve said before returning to the trauma unit to lend assistance. Mac exited the elevator and called Lucky's name, walking rapidly in his direction. "Dante gave me the basics. It looks like a hit gone wrong, a hit against Johnny and your brother. Are you sure you don't want to recuse yourself from this one? How is Ethan? How are you?"

"No, Mac—I want to see this thing through. They just took Johnny and Ethan into surgery, so we won't really know anything for a while. I think Johnny might have gotten the worst of it, though. His condition is the most critical. I haven't even had time to call my family about this yet. I should do that before they hear it from somewhere else."

"Good idea," Mac replied. "Who do you like for this?"

"Well, we're not exactly hurting for suspects, are we? There's bad blood between Sonny and Johnny, but I don't see Sonny ordering a hit on his good friend's son. Of course there's the Ordoñez Family, which is the most likely, but it could very well have been someone from one of the Five Families, too."

"I'm not seeing that as a real possibility. While you were busy with Johnny and Ethan, each head of the Five Families was hit. A few of their top lieutenants were taken out, as well. It's a real bloodbath out there, Lucky. It looks like we have a Mob war on our hands."

"All of them? They're all dead?"

"Looks like, from the reports I've gotten from the field so far. I did finally call in the FBI because we're gonna need some help with this."

"Reports. Reporters. Mac, do you know if the media has gotten hold of this story yet? We need to protect Johnny and my brother. I don't want it getting out that there were any survivors of this mess, not until we know for sure who the players are."

"Don't we know? The Ordoñez organization is squarely in the frame for this."

"Yeah, or someone else from the North Coast Cartel. I'm saying you're probably right, but I don't wanna rush to judgment. Have you heard anything from Sonny? Was he hit, too?"

"Dante was going to check on that, and get back to me. So far, I haven't heard anything."

"I need to call my dad and LuLu. And Claire, too. Do you think we could get a couple of plainclothes guys in here to keep an eye out for my brother and Johnny? I don't even care if they come from another precinct. Just make sure that they are who they say they are."

"I'm sure that can be done—I'll call in a few favors and make it happen. I'm heading back out. I'll call you if I hear anything from my end."

"I'll do the same," Lucky promised, making his first phone call to Claire.

"What happened?" rasped Ethan when he saw Lucky, coming out from under the effects of anesthesia. "Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital, and you haven't been out of surgery for very long—maybe a couple of hours. As for what happened, why don't you tell me?"

"Come on, Cowboy," Luke admonished him, "give the Dodger a break. I don't think he's up for any of your questions right now."

Well," retorted Lucky furiously, "he's doing a hell of a lot better than John Zacchara, Sammy Tagliati, or any of the rest of the heads of the Five Families! Because they're all dead, Ethan," he finished, looking at his brother. Ethan's heart rate accelerated as he tried to speak. "Johnny? Johnny's dead?"

"Well, not yet, but-" LuLu interrupted him with a harshly spoken "Lucky! Stop."

"Come on, son, out you get," Luke said as he pulled Lucky from Ethan's bedside out into the hall. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Lucky barely restrained himself from punching the wall. "It just pisses me off, Dad! We warned him about this! Hanging around with John Zacchara was going to get him killed—we told him! If it hadn't been for those two kids, he would be dead in the river and we wouldn't even know it yet! He kept insisting that he wasn't working for Johnny or that he wasn't in too deep. You don't get in much deeper than this! Why aren't you angrier?"

Luke looked at Lucky for a minute, pursing his lips. "I'm too relieved that he's alive to be angry. Listen, Lucky. I know you don't approve of Ethan's choice to run with Johnny. I wasn't thrilled about it, either, but I do understand it. He likes the freedom of it, the rush, and maybe even the danger of it. The abundance of cash doesn't hurt. You're on opposite sides, but that doesn't make what you do any less dangerous. I still expect to get that call someday, or to get that knock on my door about you. Both of my sons have the tendency to embrace danger, but I can't complain because you got it from me."

"So you don't care that he'll probably die if he keeps this up?"

"Cowboy, we all have a 'sell-by' date stamped on our foreheads. You're a cop. You might go before he does. All I know is that he has to be who he is, and you have to be who you are. And I have to back off and let you both do your thing. You'll see what I mean when Cameron, Jake, Aiden, and Spencer Jr. are a little older."

"I know what you mean already. I don't have to like it, but I know what you mean."

Claire was sitting in the lounge area, and Lucky spotted her after he left Luke's side. She was looking at the Internet feature of her phone when he sat down next to her. "I was looking on the Internet to see if there's any news about all this," she explained. "So far, it's the usual—the police are working on several leads but have no comment other than 'it's most likely Mob-related violence'. That's pretty obvious, isn't it? That it's Mob-related?"

"Yeah, but that's the most polite way to say 'don't ask me questions I don't yet have the answers to'." He leaned forward in the chair, resting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. She gently rubbed his back in a gesture of comfort.

"How is Ethan doing?"

"He's awake and holding steady, for now. I'm sure he'll make a full recovery, eventually. I'm also sure he'll end up right back here again, though, if he keeps up his association with his new best friend. Maybe I should just save him the trouble and kill him myself," he laughed shortly.

"You're angry because you're afraid for him. I can understand that. Hopefully, this will have taught him a lesson, but I don't know. Your brother is such a free spirit that I don't see anything backing him off until he decides to do it on his own. Any word on Johnny?"

"The last I heard, he was critical. It doesn't look good for him, Claire."

"You know, I warned him long ago not to get caught in the trap he was trying to set for Sonny. It looks like he didn't listen. 'Live by the sword, die by the sword'. Wow. I hope he pulls through."

"Yeah. For his sake, and for Ethan's."

Just then, the elevator doors opened again, and Dante emerged with a slightly dazed look on his face. "Well, he's gone," he greeted them.

Lucky rose to his feet. "Sonny? They got him, too? He's dead?"

"No, no. Not that. But he is gone. I checked everywhere I thought he might go in Port Charles, and then I checked the airport. His plane is gone. I looked everywhere, but no sign, and no note or phone call, either. Don't even ask me what made me check my email, but there it was. He left the country. He's got Graciella overseeing the packing up of the house. Bernie, Max and Milo are nowhere in sight, either, so I have to assume they went with him. 'Father Of the Year' has left it to me to tell my sister and my brothers that he's gone, not planning to come back, and that 'he loves us'. I guess considering what happened to the other heads of the Five Families, he got off lightly, but I still can't believe he ran."

"He'll be back," Lucky said, watching Dante's face. "He's left before, but he always comes back."

"I don't know, man. This sounded pretty final."

"We'll see. Anyway, I was getting ready to question Ethan when my dad yanked me out of his room. To be fair, I was being a little heavy-handed, but we need to move on this thing. I'm hoping that we can keep both him and Johnny safe while they're here—I don't want to have to move them to Mercy or out of the city. I asked Mac to arrange some plainclothes guards for them, at least temporarily. And I really don't want to push my brother, but we need some answers. Come on." He looked back at Claire. "Are you going to be ok here?" he asked.

"Yes, I'll be fine. I'll keep up with the news, and if anything changes, or if I decide to go back home, I'll let you know."

"Thanks, sweetie. I just feel more comfortable knowing where you are right now." He kissed her softly on the forehead and then he and Dante walked down the hall to Ethan's hospital room.

"First of all, Ethan, I apologize. I'm pissed at you because I'm relieved that you're ok, and I never wanted this to happen to you. I still wonder if you realize how serious this is while you're laying here recovering from surgery to remove two bullets from your back and neck. You do know that you could be dead, right?" His father shot him a stone-faced glare, and he backed off. "Ok. For now, we can forgo that part of the lecture. Can you remember what happened? Anything that will help us catch whoever did this?"

"Not really, mate. It's all kind of fuzzy in my head. Johnny and I were—somewhere. I vaguely recall water. So cold. And then I woke up here."

Lucky looked at him skeptically. "Are you sure you don't remember anything, or are you still trying to protect Johnny? Because we need more to go on if we're gonna get these guys." Ethan remembered exactly what happened, but for now, he thought it prudent to keep his counsel.

"If I knew more, Lucky, I would tell you. I want to get whoever did this as badly as you do. How is Johnny? Have you heard any more about his condition?"

"He's on a ventilator, Ethan. It really doesn't look all that good for him right now, but anything could happen. The PCPD has posted some guards in the hospital for you and Johnny, but their jobs are made more difficult since you can't identify your assailant. They don't know who to look out for. Are you positive that you can't give us any more information? Could Sebastian Ordoñez have done this, or ordered it done?" He watched his brother's face closely, but Ethan's eyes were closed, and he couldn't get a read on how truthful he was being.

"Sebastian? I don't know. Could be. I just don't remember."

Lucky gave his brother an exasperated look as he and Dante left the room. "I'm not buying that he doesn't remember," Lucky said as he hit the speed dial on his phone. "Mac? Any news on your end? That figures. Well, according to Ethan, he doesn't remember what happened exactly. He said it 'could have been Ordoñez,' whom he slipped and called 'Sebastian.' That implies to me that they have a deeper connection or relationship than he meant for us to know. I think, if you find the right judge, that that's enough for probable cause, isn't it?"

"I think that can be handled. At the least, we have a 'reasonable suspicion.' The tricky part is the wording. If we ask for a search warrant based on 'suspicion of attempted murder', then he'll know they survived. Let me see if I can find a judge who will be sympathetic to our problem. I'll tag you back later."

As Lucky was hanging up the phone, Dante was crossing his arms and leaning up against the wall, his eyes narrowed. "I want these guys, Lucky. I want them something chronic. They come into our city and make a bloody mess. They're not gonna get away with it."

"We'll have to build a solid case, and make it stick. You said it yourself—these guys are big-time. They probably think they're untouchable because up to now, they have been. There's not going to be much evidence, but whatever there is to find, we'll find it." Lucky's eyes widened when he noticed Nikolas coming toward him. "Hmm," he said. Dante looked back and forth between them before saying, "I guess I'll leave you to it. I wanna check on a couple of things anyway." He walked away, leaving the brothers alone.

"What are you doing here?" Lucky asked him. Nikolas exhaled slowly before answering, "I was in a board meeting when I heard that Ethan and John Zacchara were brought in. A shooting of some kind? I know how things are between us, but I had to come see if I could lend my support in any way. I know what it's like to be concerned for your brother's health when he's been hospitalized."

"Thanks. If you really want to help, you can make sure the staff knows to be on guard for anyone who looks suspicious trying to get to Johnny and Ethan. Make sure they know that only specific hospital personnel will be allowed into their rooms for now."

"So what happened?"

"I don't know. Right now, it looks like a Mob hit gone wrong, but Ethan wasn't very forthcoming about the circumstances, and Johnny is in critical condition. We're still trying to put all the pieces together. I appreciate you approaching me. Thanks again." Nikolas shrugged his shoulders and shook his head as he realized that this was the only concession he was going to receive for his efforts. "It's not a problem," he sighed. "I was glad to do it." He went to find Steve Webber to implement Lucky's requests, and Lucky watched him walk away. He still couldn't believe that his brother and best friend was lost to him forever. He was moving to return to Claire when his phone vibrated. Mac was on the other end. "We might have caught a little break. There were some fibers caught in John Zacchara's jacket zipper that didn't get washed away when their bodies hit the water. Ordoñez's vehicles have been thoroughly detailed, but if the fibers match the carpet from any of them, we may have something."

"You guys didn't find any blood or anything? They had to be bleeding pretty badly, Mac."

"Well, this is a huge property, and we're not finished yet. I've gotta say, both he and his sister are being awfully cooperative. We've got the CSI guys out here, and they're just getting started, so who knows? Maybe we'll get lucky, Lucky."

"Cute, Mac. Very cute. It's good to see that this crapfest hasn't made you lose your sense of humor."

Claire was yawning when Lucky finally returned to her side. "Sweetie, why don't you go ahead and go home? I'm going to sit with Ethan for a while and see if he'll accidentally say something else he didn't intend to tell me. That is if Dad doesn't rake me over the coals for 'being mean to his little cub'." They both laughed at the image before Claire said, "Yeah, I'm going to go. I have something I need to do, and there's no time like the present to do it. I'll see you at home in a little while?"

"In a while. Maybe we can go have dinner later on tonight."

"Mmm. Sounds like a plan." They hugged, and he buried his face in her neck, sighing. She reached her hand up to his head, holding him to her. "It's going to be ok, Lucky. Ethan is going to be fine, and we'll get the ones who did this. I can feel it." He kissed her cheek and then leaned back, smiling at her. "I hope you're right. Go on, now. I'll be home soon." He watched her get on the elevator and then he returned to his brother's room.

Claire was staring sightlessly at a wall in her home office when Lucky returned to the house. She appeared lost in thought, and he watched her for a moment before asking, "Where are you? What are you thinking about so seriously?" She gave him a faint smile as she replied, "Change. I'm thinking about change. Or rather, changes. I finally called my bosses today. I turned in my resignation. I am officially no longer a Special Prosecutor." He walked fully into the room, putting his arm around her as she sat in her chair behind the desk. She leaned into him with a sigh. "Oh, sweetie, wow. I know that was a hard decision for you to make. How do you feel about it?"

"I don't know. On one hand, I feel almost afraid. I worked so incredibly hard to get to that position, and I wasn't through. I hadn't gone as far as I'd planned to. So there is a small part of me that thinks I made a colossal blunder. But then, there is the part of me that is strangely elated. I feel like I'm working without a safety net, and for the first time in my life, that energizes me. I'm moving in a different direction, an unexpected one, and I'm fully embracing whatever that means. We're starting a life together, and having a child. We're building a home. I don't know. I have so many feelings coursing through me, and most of them are good ones. For me, that's unusual. It must be your positive influence," she finished, looking up at him with a grin.

"What did you hear from the DA's office here?"

"Well, there is an Assistant DA position available, and I've set up an official interview for that one. I've already had an informal interview with the DA, so I feel confident that the District Attorney's office is my next stop. Right now, it'll be on an interim basis since in less than six months, I'll be going on maternity leave, but once that's finished, we'll see. I don't know how I'll feel once Spencer Jr. is here—I might not even want to work full-time right away."

"I love you," he declared finally, gently pulling her up from the chair and hugging her. "I know this is a huge step, and I appreciate the faith you have in us to be able to make it."

"I know you love me," she replied, "and I think it's that love that's giving me the courage to make such steps. I know before you, there's no way I would have considered giving up my job in Washington—not for anything." He held her gaze with a slight frown on his face, his eyes narrowed. His face cleared as he came to a decision. "Do me a favor. Go outside to the back yard and wait for me by the little brook. I have something I want to say to you, but the ambiance is all wrong here." She laughed, "You need ambiance to say whatever you need to say?" "Trust me," he said. "Only with my life," she returned as she moved from her office to the patio doors. As soon as she walked out onto the deck, Lucky raced up the stairs.

When he joined her by the brook, Claire was sitting on one of the lawn chairs, her face tilted up toward the sun. "It is beautiful out here right now, so I guess once again, you were right. The afternoon sun soaking into my bones feels glorious."

"It is beautiful, isn't it? I know we haven't been here long, but I don't think I'll ever get tired of this view. Or of the peacefulness it brings. Hang on a minute," he said before walking over to the mini garden in one of the corners of the yard. He plucked two violets from the little patch before returning to her side. She moved to make room for him on the chair, and he sat down facing her, presenting the violets to her. She delicately sniffed the blooms, then looked at him, cocking her head and smiling. "Thank you. What an interesting choice."

"I chose them on purpose. Listen," he stated, rising from the chair to pace the ground. "I realized something today, dealing with Ethan. Life is short and unpredictable. You just can't see what's coming around the corner. I've been thinking about us a lot lately. We did everything backwards. Out of order. When we started out, it was supposed to be a casual thing, but something about you, about **us**, made it impossible to stay that way. And then you got pregnant, and then we moved in together, and then we bought a house. Not the natural order of things. And yes, I do realize that I'm rambling." He paused and stared at her.

"No, it's ok. Keep going."

"Ok," he said, taking a deep breath. "I've been married twice, to the same woman. Now I don't know if it was **she** or **I** or the combination of **us**, but it didn't work out either time. So that's made me a bit gun-shy in the marriage department." "Lucky," Claire interrupted him, but before she could speak further, he said, "No, let me finish. I see you and me, I see us and the life we're building, and I feel the need to honor that somehow. I don't think, and I know this is going to sound crazy given the circumstances, that we're ready for marriage. Not quite yet. But it's been a long, long time since I've felt the kind of connection I have with you with anyone else. Not even with Elizabeth, and that's saying something. What we have, what we're building has gone beyond any expectations I had. I love you. So much so that sometimes I just laugh out loud when I think of you—that's how happy you make me. How glad you make my heart. I don't see that changing. I don't want it to. But I also know that things **do** change, and even the best intentions aren't always met. I trust you, though. And I trust that if things ever changed between us, you'd be honest enough to tell me to my face. That if you decided you didn't want me anymore, we'd talk it out and if need be, **then** we'd let go. This is how I feel right now. I need to tell you that you are my heart, and I don't want that to change. The violets are a symbol of fidelity, a symbol that goes all the way back to mediaeval times." He sat back down opposite her on the lounge chair. "You have me. All that I am is yours for safekeeping. I never want you to question my faithfulness to you. My commitment to you. I want you to please accept this," he went on, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a ring box. Opening the box, he explained, "It's platinum and white gold. For now, the three diamonds represent you, me and our child." He removed the band from its tight confines while she sat silent, watching him. "Look inside," he told her, handing her the ring. Claire's eyes narrowed as she tried to make out the symbols, the inscription, on it.

"What is this? Except for our names, it's not English."

"No, those are Chinese characters. What I wanted to say wouldn't fit in English. It says 'Love, Loyalty, Fidelity—Lucas and Claire, 2010.' I just put 2010 because I didn't know exactly when I would give it to you, only that I would know when the time was right. Today felt right. Will you wear it?"

"Wow," she said, exhaling steadily, "I totally wasn't expecting this. I don't have one for you."

"We'll get one that matches later—I wanted to make sure you accepted this one first."

"Hmm," she continued, giggling, "on which hand, though?"

"Well, we're not conventional by any means, so I think the left will do. That's what I had in mind, anyway. What do you think?"

"I think it's beautiful and perfect, Lucky—Lucas," she responded, the joy on her face an answer all its own. "And I will accept it, and wear it, gladly." He slipped the ring on her left hand and they looked at it, then at each other as he raised her hand to his lips, kissing it.

"I've met a lot of men, and I've even dated a few, but no one like you, ever. You are an original, Lucas Lorenzo Spencer Jr. To be honest, I didn't really know guys like you existed. A practical romantic with the soul of a poet. You are so easy to love, and it is so wonderful to be loved by you. I can't say how grateful I am to Sonny Corinthos! If it weren't for his criminal ways, I would never have come here to Port Charles. I would never have met you. How impossible that is to believe—that we might never have met! That what I'm feeling right now, I might never have felt. I love you, Lucky. I didn't expect to. I tried not to want to, but you showed me your heart in a million different ways, and I was powerless to resist. I enjoy my career and it's given me a lot of satisfaction over the years, but this—you, your boys and Spencer Jr.—is an unexpected blessing. Something I longed for, but never thought I'd have. Thank you for letting go enough to trust me with your heart. You won't regret it. That's my promise to you." They leaned into one another, their lips meeting in a lengthy kiss of affirmation. When they broke apart, Claire asked him, "So, how do we plan to celebrate this new commitment?" Lucky laughed. "I thought we might take a short nap right here in the sun, and then have an early dinner at the Metro Court. How does that sound?"

"It sounds like you really do know me too well," she replied, scooting over to make room for him on the chair. He leaned back and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. He dropped a light kiss on her hair, remembering the first time he noticed that spicy vanilla scent and he sighed a little. "Could it get any more perfect?" he wondered as they drifted off to sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

Epilogue

"I'm sorry that we weren't able to see the sex of the baby at your visit last month, but maybe we'll have better luck this time." Dr. Lee was manipulating the transducer probe around Claire's abdomen while she and Lucky looked avidly at the monitor. "But one thing I can say, is everything still looks good, and fetal development is still on track. You're twenty-two weeks in now. How have you been feeling?"

"I feel like I swallowed a basketball," Claire replied, laughing. "Or maybe that's just the way I look."

"Sweetie, your stomach doesn't look like a basketball! Well, not quite. Almost. How about a mini-basketball? A giant soccer ball?"

"You're being a real boost to my ego, Dad," she retorted, "but I can admit the truth. I only see myself in the mirror every morning!"

"Is the baby moving around a lot?" asked Dr. Lee.

Lucky and Claire both remembered the first time they felt "Spencer Jr." moving, and they smiled as she answered, "Well, I definitely can feel a lot of movement now. And I can tell you one thing—Spencer Jr. does not like spicy foods! Every time I have anything with peppers or marinara sauce, neither one of us gets much sleep! And then there's the-" Claire was interrupted when Dr. Lee said, "Whoops—whoa, there we go! So, have you picked out a name for this little girl yet?"

It took a moment for the words to register with them. Finally, Claire exclaimed, "A girl? We're having a girl? Oh, my God!" "Well it's about time," said Lucky. "The last girl we had in the family was LuLu!"

"But all this time, I've been thinking it—she—was a boy! We've been calling our daughter 'Spencer Jr.'!" "Well," responded Lucky, "then maybe that can be her name."

"Whoa! We are not calling our child Spencer Jr. Walsh-Spencer—I don't care how unconventional we are!"

"No, silly. But your mother's name is Ana, and my mother's name is Laura. I'm thinking about a variation of the two. What do you think of Lauren Anastasia?"

"Oh, Lucky, that's beautiful! Did you just now come up with that?"

"No, I've been kicking it around in my head for a while. For some reason, I didn't even bother to choose or think up any boys' names. I guess I was thinking that with us already having three boys in the family, we were about due for a testosterone break!" After getting the gel cleaned off and readjusting her blouse, Claire and Lucky joined Dr. Lee in her office. "We'll set up your next appointment time now," Dr. Lee said. "I'm just glad she cooperated today, and I could give you such happy news. We were able to capture 'the moment of truth' on the sonogram this time, so I assume you'll both want a copy?" "Of course we do," Claire and Lucky declared simultaneously. Claire added, "Can we get an extra one? One for us, and one for both grandmas. We're starting a baby book for Lauren, and that picture's definitely going in it!"

Hand in hand, Claire and Lucky walked to the car after leaving the hospital. "Did you realize," Claire asked suddenly, "that 'Lauren Anastasia' and 'Aiden Lorenzo' are the same initials, basically? Was that on purpose?" "Not really," he replied. "Your mom's name and my mom's name were the main factors. I think the rest was just a happy accident."

"Or an unexpected blessing," she laughed, remembering the conversation they had long ago about what to tell their child about how he or she came to be. Lucky leaned against the car after opening Claire's door for her and making sure she was belted in, a huge grin on his face as he looked down at her. "I feel like celebrating. I don't know! Suddenly, I'm in the mood for a party!"

"You and your impromptu parties," she countered, nodding her head in agreement. "A party sounds like a good idea. A family gathering. We still have to celebrate Ethan finally coming home from the hospital last week. What do you think? Call a caterer?"

"No, not that kind of party. Something casual. Pizza and burgers, beer for them and sparking mineral water for us. You work on the food—I'll work on the guest list."

"Do me a favor?"

"For you, mother of my only daughter, anything."

"Include Nikolas on your list."

"You have to be kidding."

"I'm not. In a weird kind of way, I owe him. It was a treacherous thing he did to you, granted, but if he hadn't done it, I wouldn't have you now. I wouldn't have Lauren. I guess I want to—I don't know—say 'thank you' somehow without really saying it? Because thanking him for breaking your heart would be ridiculous, but… Oh, I don't know what I'm saying!"

"I know what you're saying," Lucky said slowly, "and I get it. Let's just look at it this way. Maybe it's time to try to mend fences, have a different type of relationship. It can never be the same, but maybe it can be almost as good, in a strange kind of way." Claire burst out laughing. "Confusing, isn't it?" she chortled.

"Confusing and convoluted, but that's the Spencer way. Fine. We can call Uncle Nikolas and he can bring Spencer. We'll call Elizabeth and have her bring the boys, which will save me a trip into the city to pick them up later. Ethan will be bringing Maya; or rather, she'll be bringing him since he can't drive yet. LuLu and Dante, of course, and my dad and Tracy, if she responds to his begging and pleading."

"This is going to be good, father of my only daughter," Claire remarked before tilting her head up to receive Lucky's kiss. "This is going to be fun."

As they drove out of the parking lot toward home after making their phone calls, they both felt within themselves an indescribable joy beginning to blossom. There were still challenges ahead: proving that Sebastian Ordoñez was guilty of shooting Ethan and Johnny, ending a Mob war, pursing a new and unexpected career path, raising four children in an incredibly blended family. They were both more than equal to those challenges, however, and looking forward to embracing each one. As long as Lucky and Claire maintained their love, their loyalty and their fidelity, having it all, and **keeping** it all, was going to be a cinch.

The Beginning…


End file.
